racoma.com.phJ. Angelo Racoma on technology, economics, writing, problogging, and getting things done

What you pore over at 12 may be the most important reading that you do, according to a piece at citypaper.com. In hindsight, I think I was a lousy reader back when I was 12. Sure I had a very imaginative mind. I was such an introvert, that I mostly retreated to my computer games and other stuff that normal kids my age did. But most books I read that time were those assigned in school, and I could say that pretty much anything assigned in class is something that a twelve year old kid would definitely find uninteresting.

But when I read something that I find interesting, it really does captivate me, and my whole world would then revolve around that piece of literature, at least for a moment. Sometimes it feels like a lifetime. I suppose it depends on the material, in that it has to appeal to me before I get hooked. I’m not one who would just haphazardly get enticed into reading something because I’m intrigued, or because of what other people say, or because of reviews.

I do recall buying Hard Boys books every few weeks or so, with my meager allowance. When I ran out of cases, I sifted through my sister’s Sweet Valley collection quite quickly. Girly stuff, yes, but fast forward a decade or so after, one would get an appreciation of the female perspective on a lot of things (much like how I still read fashion magazines when I get the chance).

I never got to encounter Narnia, the Hobbit or Lord of the Rings until later in life, though. Poor me.

In the recent weeks I’ve found myself to have rekindled an interest in reading juvenile and young adult literature. I paid my folks’ place a visit and picked up copies of books I had once read in high school like Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Lowry’s The Giver, Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men and a collection of Sherlock Holmes stories, among others. As my own copies of some titles have been lost into oblivion through the past 15 years or so, some of these I borrowed from siblings who, at one time or another, perhaps enjoyed leafing through the frayed and yellowed pages, too.

I also picked up stories that are new to me, like Lowry’s Gathering Blue, Messenger, Sachar’s Holes, L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time, among others. Basically Newberry award stuff, mostly. The stuff they make you read in grade school (through which the author and publisher probably earn millions in the process, considering the number of kids who read their stuff every year).

It started when I chanced upon a late showing of Bridge to Terabithia on cable, after which i bought a DVD and a copy of Katherine Paterson’s book. Breezing through the story in one sitting, I found it an easy read. The book was meant for fifth grade kids, after all. To the eyes, at least, it was an easy read. But to a scarred soul, the story hits a nerve and finishing the 150 or so pages, you somehow feel wounded for life. If you haven’t read it, pick up a copy. Or at least watch the movie on DVD. You’ll know what I mean.

To a twenty-something father of three (and counting), I find myself reading through children’s literature with a different perspective, and with a different depth of understanding. Somehow ten, twelve, fifteen years or so after you first read something, the words re-read stir up in you memories of younger days. Better days, perhaps? Or maybe simply that–fond memories of days before when the world was younger, and so were you.

Again, in hindsight, I feel as if there was part of my childhood that I just seemed to breeze through with nary a recollection. I could remember a lot of things–up to the most minute detail–from when I was 13, which was the time I first met a great, treasured friend, who would later on became my wife. But prior to that, it’s a bit hazy. Bits and pieces come up here and there, but things are not so clear.

And so that’s perhaps the reason I have grown fond of reading literature aimed at children. I need to feel young again. Then maybe–just maybe–these feelings evoked by double-spaced black and white ink on paperbacks would conjure up thoughts and memories buried deep in my subconscious. And maybe I can get to relive those moments again–those innocent moments, undisturbed by the worries of the world that one such as I encounter on a daily basis. Things like money, death, people, society and, at times, work.

I’ve started the habit of reading a few chapters to my kids at bedtime. Charlotte’s Web and even Terabithia seem to be their liking (they loved the movie!), as these seem light and fluffy enough for them. I also picked up a copy of Gaiman’s Coraline at the bookstore last week, which I also started reading to the kids aloud. Maybe someday, someday, my two girls will elatedly recall those frightening moments as we leaf through the pages of suspenseful hanging over the edge, conjuring up memories of other mother and poor ghosts in their own subconscious. Buttons, perhaps?

Probably buttons.

It’s April 6th once again! Here’s a short poem I wrote two years ago, with a few modifications.

It was a perfect Sunday afternoon
April 6, 2003
We marched at four
We said our I do’s
To declare our love
For the whole world to see

It’s been four years now, today
We’ve grown from two, to three, now to four
(and going on to five. Any more?)
And we nurture our love and our family
Through sickness and health
For richer or poorer
(right now the latter, but hopefully going better)
Through the ups and downs
Rain or shine
Even death will not part us

Happy fourth anniversary, my love!

(J. Angelo Racoma and Caren Marie R. Guevara were wed on April 6, 2003 at the Basilica de San Sebastian)

Here’s a compelling reason why celebrities–entertainers, politicians, and other well-known individuals–should start their own blogs.

About three years back, I was checking out the ‘Net for information on Marieton Pacheco. She was then an up-and-coming media personality, having covered the Malacañang (the Philippine equivalent of the White House) beat as a rookie TV reporter, then the Erap Estrada impeachment trial, and then moving on to host a youth-oriented morning show. What’s interesting is that instead of her studio profiles and company links appearing on the search engines, there was this one blog that was consistenty on top. And if I were Ms. Pacheco, I might not like the contents of the blog much.

While the author of the Elephant Still Missing blog has long stopped updating the site, his fictional encounters with Marieton Pacheco still tops Google search. Let me quote a few lines.

Marieton Pacheco and I are neighbours in Kamias, and I bump into her occasionally in the most public places. The most recent one was in the Kamias Lavandera Ko branch, the one beside the video rental place in the Korean building. I was lugging my laundry in a large black plastic bag that people normally use for bringing-out garbage. My laundry’s at least two weeks old, and must’ve been six kilos heavy, possibly eight, even. The bag was heavy and too big for me to look over. I couldn’t see Marieton so I bumped into her and her basket of undies.

The laundry attendants were giggling like catholic schoolgirls when I dropped my bag and helped Marieton pick up her undies from the floor. Apparently, she just walked in before I did, about to hand her basket of undies to one of the attendants, when I bumped into her from nowhere and spilled her undies on the floor by accident. All this I figured from the unwashed-look that her undies had. They were still rolled-around and curled-up along the sides, like she had just used them four hours ago, still looking like they did the last time she tossed them into the basket.

Is It For Real?

When I first read the article, I thought this was a real-world encounter. But then upon further reading (and judging from the nature of the site), I realized it was a literary site. In fact, it was part 2 of the author’s account, where he claimed to be Ms. Pacheco’s boyfriend, that made me start to look twice into the nature of the site.

Marieton Pacheco and I are on an air-conditioned bus to Novaliches, to meet her parents who financed her way through four years in MassComm. It is a sunny Saturday afternoon outside the window, the sort that invites bearded street preachers to bring the Word of the Lord into air-conditioned bus aisles. Our bus is parked near where People’s Park used to be. Marieton is holding my hand, and I hers. Her grip is firm, like a little girl holding her brother’s hand as they make their way inside a Star City funhouse. I’m contemplating about tickling the inside of her palm with my middle-finger when she asks me about my relationship with my father. “Are the two of you close?” she asks me. She waits for my answer with a pout.

Readers who are not as inquisitive, though, might not realize this.

Search Engine Benefits and Being Part of the Discussion

So why should celebrities blog? Simple. Search engine optimization. If I were a respectable young lady who is a media personality, I would certainly not want for-mature-audiences-only stories involving me to be topping search engine results (though I think the Marieton Pacheco stories are well-written and still in good taste, except probably if readers have very playful minds)–more especially so if these were true stories. If I were an incumbent politician looking into re-election, I wouldn’t want claims of my being corrupt being spread online and making it to the number one spots in the search engines.

Or worse, some individual with malicious intent could just set up a blog under another’s name (even signing up for an appropriate domain name) pretending to be that person, but writing material that’s potentially harmful.

The same goes for just about any person who wants to maintain his or her integrity online. While you cannot control what material about you gets published online, you can at least show the people who you really are and what you really think by writing your own blog. And if ever people publish stuff about you that you don’t like, you can always comment on their sites/blogs, and you can always publish your response on your own blog.

This is why big companies like Microsoft and IBM have let their employees blog. Blogs give a sense of honesty and transparency. Readers would rather read accounts and opinions from a real person rather than a press release, which while well thought-of, would not feel as honest.

So why should celebrities blog? To protect their identities online, that’s why.

Oh, and it can be quite fun, too.

Being the nocturnal person, where I am (or at least perceive myself to be) more productive during the wee hours of midnight to early morn when everyone else is in their various stages of sleep, this is usually my message signing off when friends, colleagues or some sprit of the night say their good-byes in (sometimes productive, sometimes counter-productive, always interesting) instant messenger conversations. Last man standing, I usually consider myself.

No sleep for the weary.

I usually try to ponder the meaning and significance of this line time and again. I’ve come to realize that this line is usually preceded by “There is …” and then followed by “… until …” Ergo, this would mean my firm resolve to finish whatever it is that I am trying to finish, and not rest–even when burdened by troubles and weariness–until I have satisfied myself that I have done my best for the day, and must henceforth retire, rest, and perchance sleep, in order that I can face the next with further renewed energy and undying exuberance.

Passion, Perspiration, and a bit of Inspiration

Sometimes I succeed, and sometimes I do not. That usually depends not just on my level of energy (for energy can be misdirected and misspent), but on the passion and commitment I have put into my task. Yes, sometimes it does take a bit of inspiration to follow through with my efforts, but it mostly depends on perspiration (success after all is 99% this, with the former constituting the remaining one percent).

What inspires me to do well, then? First and foremost, there’s the feeling of accomplishment and pride with what I do. And then of course there are the financial considerations.

Sex & Cash

In the Sex & Cash theory parlance of gapingvoid,

The creative person basically has two kinds of jobs: One is the sexy, creative kind. Second is the kind that pays the bills. Sometimes the task in hand covers both bases, but not often. This tense duality will always play center stage. It will never be transcended.

My profession and current line of work involves both the sex and the cash aspect of that duality, most of the time. Knowing that I get to accomplish both needs at the same time–sex being the need for a sexy job that I can be passionate about, and cash being the job that pays the bills–I could usually retire for the day knowing I have accomplished something good.

Sometimes, though, it’s good to keep the sex and cash separate from one another, that I may pursue undertakings that are of pure passion and glory in nature. And that’s where stuff like this blog falls under, and also potentially great things, like Go-Ogle and other budding startups I’m dreaming up in my mind (and hope to turn from ether into reality soon).

How to Be Creative

For now, I leave you with this article from Hugh MacLeod’s gapingvoid, with interesting pointers on how to be creative. You’ll get bold statements such as Ignore everybody, Dying young is overrated, and Power is never given. Power is taken.

This is not exactly new, but I do hope those in need of a boost in their creativity whether in the arts, business, or in anything, would find this piece helpful–enlightening and entertaining in the same light.

Now A Word From Our (Former) Sponsors

A usual co-conspirator, fellow Man-blogger Mike Villar, asked me to help spread the word about the soft-launch of version 2 of Calliope, the engine that powers i.PH (used to be my baby back at dotPH). Lots of good stuff added. I have to admit, though, that it’s not really for me (for I love to be in full control, and I’d rather go for our free com . ph domain offering, the initial batch of which we’re actually registering today), but Calliope would appeal to you if you’re looking for an all-in-one package that’s easy to manage without necessarily having techie skills.

So adieu for now! Remember, there is no spoon!*

*Another favorite sign-off line.

Is it possible to be creative on a deadline?

This is a question probably oft asked of us in the writing / designing / artistic lines of business. Sure, creative types unconstrained by deadlines and requirements–and bills to pay–can go ahead and take their time working on their masterpieces. But for us who rely on our talent and creativity to make a living (or earn our riches, perhaps), it’s a bit more difficult than that. There are times when you feel you’re uninspired and whatever you try to create just turns out as crap!

Kathy Sierra of Creating Passionate Users has this to say about creativity and the muse:

… creativity is not something you “wait for the muse to appear before starting.” … you just sit down and start the hard work, and trust that it will happen, even if it doesn’t feel like it.

Or simply put,

When it comes to being creative, you have to make the first move!

Okay, this is pretty old–it’s more than one year since Kathy hit the publish button on that one. And I might have skimmed over that particular post when I first read it that time, as I was not yet in a creative line of work (well, semi-creative perhaps, but still mostly a corporate drone). But thoughts like these are timeless and will hold water until the time people cease to view creativity as a gift.

Kathy writes that it’s much more harmful if you just sit there and do nothing. So stop justifying that you’re waiting for inspiration! Sorry, buddy. That’s wrong. Just. Plain. Wrong.

It’s best of you start doing something–anything. Just make sure it’s not something routinary. What matters is that by doing something, your mind does some brainstorming (hopefully from the creative side) and before you know it you’re on to something.

I wrote awhile back on having blogger’s block, and in hindsight, I’d tend to think it wasn’t due to the muse not coming or my not doing anything at all (i.e., making the first move)–in fact, it was probably because of doing too much! Sometimes, even when you’re at the peak of inspiration, things just break down and, well, you get tired and sleepy and all that!

At any rate, I think what I’m trying to say is that if you’re having a hard time trying to squeeze out every ounce of creativity but it seems nothing good’s coming out, there’s probably something wrong. Maybe it’s time to take a little break. Relax. Do something else–anything else. Or maybe you can do things differently, hence jumpstarting your brain by looking at things from a different perspective. Things will start moving smoothly soon after you get back your flow.

So here’s to mind- and life-hacking and getting things done!