Regulation of the Internet

This is a touchy issue. I have a nagging feeling that because the Philippines is currently working to pass an Anti Cybercrime Act, more supposed incidents of "cybercrime" will begin to emerge over the next few weeks and months. People tend to react to issues like this through a semblance of "participation through association". If one John Doe says that Jane Doe has been saying "bad things" about him on Twitter or Facebook, and if he says that Jane Doe's doing so in "bad taste" or in a "libelous manner" (based on his personal opinion), the thus begins the cycle of "thinking you've got an understanding of an issue when in fact you only think so because you managed to thrust yourself into a situation that minutely resembles defamation". You get what I mean. Everything is relative on the internet. You go on Wikipedia, and you look up, say, the biography of Martin Luther King, and you see dates, places, names of people- those are facts. But when you consider the flow of the article, the cadence at which certain statements have been positioned- that can be subject to a million and one types of interpretation. You go on Facebook, and you see posts about people, places, topics of interest, issues. Every post on there is subject to interpretation. How the posts are written out, what the posts contain, etc., can be made to be points of contention, or even, blatant offense. Given the speed at which the information circulates through the internet, it wouldn't be surprising to eventually see an all in all minor piece of feedback grow into a grotesque monument to destructive social thought. It's frightening. It's downright absurb how many can affected by this pathway of thought. This is why we need regulations for the internet, BUT such caveats need to be made in such a way that no one is disenfranchised, abused, or rendered powerless. Let's leave it to brilliant legal minds to figure out the ins and outs of this process. At the same time, let's not forget the consumer, often woebegone in the face of what stands to be the onset of implausible censorship, or, freedom of speech which is set to be his/her own undoing. Maybe those in power could begin with more obvious forms of internet media, such as child pornography and ultra violent for-the-heck-of-it websites. That would help set a precedent for "competent" censorship. If they target more complex arenas such as Twitter and Facebook first, then, they may be in for a tough battle which muddles details and works towards the gist of the fight being lost in the shuffle. See, Apple's script for product launches. It's never too late for change. How to make such change feasible, and significant, is another story. MC

Thoughts on My Recent Trips

I've been travelling a lot as of late. I feel blessed that I've been able to see the world like I have thanks to the kindness of others. Further to this, I feel blessed to have been able to visit family in the United States over the past 2 months, family whom I have not seen for some time. I was in Las Vegas weeks ago, and, my initial impressions of the place (lights, kitchy elements, insomnia, etc.), were validated. Honestly, Vegas isn't really my type of place per se, as I am more into historical/cultural sites, but then, the experience allowed me to take in a different side of the United States in particular. I have also gotten to go to Cedar Rapids and to California over the past 60 days. Cedar Rapids is a rustic place, bucolic, a constant clashing of natural, and urban. California, on the other hand, is a clashing of green and brown. The desert and greenery going head to head. Then there are places where the sea meets land. La Jolla. Mission Bay. Fantastic stuff. My recent trips have provided a respite from the often too hectic pace of Manila, and food for thought too. Can I actually transplant my life here in the Philippines to another place such as California? I wonder.

To kids, the even the simplest things in the world are of infinite fascination.

I Am Happy, But...

Honestly, I am happy about how my career has gone in the past year. Things have gone on well. God has been good to me overall.

I hope, though, that with a great career, does not come a total dulling of my creative self.

MC

I Think I Need To!

Can't find home?
Look in your heart.
Write.
Feel.
Be.