Happy 10 Years, Facebook!

Facebook has turned 10 and as a treat to its members, it's giving us a quick glimpse of our Facebook life via a few seconds of a lookback video.

Here's mine:



Ever wondered how I was able to save my video? Here's how I did it:

1. Log-in to your Facebook account using Google Chrome.
   
2. Go to www.facebook.com/lookback to watch your video.
   
3. Open another tab and type "about:cache" in the address field.
   
4. Press Ctrl + F keys and search for the keyword "lookback." Look for an address that looks similarly like this:
   https://z-n.ak.fbcdn.net/lookbackvideo8.ak/blahblah.mp4?oh=954e41ceb941f5e7c7ce75aad0066e18&oe=52F37A33&__gda__=1391712755_07ab3990890c2d2bcba2049edc0077ea
   
5. Copy that URL and paste it in the address field.
   
6. Once confirmed that it is your lookback video, right-click on it and choose "Save Video As."
   
7. Save it to your desired location.
   

Now you can view your lookback video anytime and post it somewhere else!

Vhonggang-Vhonggang Vhong-Vhong

Welcome back to the blogosphere. I've decided to write again since I am too expressive for Twitter to contain and I think that Facebook is a place where one gets to learn with each other and see positive things that don't have to be redundant. This matter isn't Facebook-worthy, thus, I'm posting it on here.

If you are a Filipino but you haven't heard of Vhong Navarro, Deniece Cornejo, and Cedric Lee, the two former's sexual meet-up, and the latter's alleged participation in the dancer-comedian's mauling incident, you're lucky. Unfortunately, I'm not. It's been a week, more than a week even, since my Facebook feed has been flooded with reposts, shares, and what not regarding this issue and I'm starting to lose around 10% of my Facebook contacts because of that.

Personally, I think we should put this matter to a rest and let me state my case.

First, this incident doesn't have to do, at all, in our daily lives. Diving into their swamp of controversies won't give us a bonus in our jobs, nor will it give us a plus point in our grades. The truth of the matter is, talking about them makes us less of a person, intellectually. Small minds talk about people and discussing about their lives, taking sides without knowing all the facts, makes us stupid people.

Secondly, Vhong wouldn't have been mauled had he been loyal to his girlfriend. Philippines is a culture of machismo and chauvinism and being a player, regardless of how less attractive your face is, makes most guys think that they are great. The more manyakis you are, the bigger it defines your manhood.

Third, there's what we call court and being rich and famous as they are, they can afford their lawyers and they have all the time to wait and suffer from the poor, slow-moving, and questionable justice system that we have. Let them bring this matter to somewhere it deserves to be placed.

Fourth, we blame media for making this molehill out of a mountain. Always remember that in economics, businesses always go for whatever the demand is and with the majority of us buying this rubbish, that makes them shove us with more updates about this people. Our local TV and newspapers have more than something to offer to us and let's not allow them to feed us with crap. If we ignore this issue, they will stop talking asking these people to guest on their shows.

Fifth, the Philippines has a lot of issues to address. Let us be vigilant about the on-going cases such as corruption, power hike, Spratly Islands, and other pressing matters that directly affect us.

Sixth, Vhong doesn't care about us. We or our loved ones might have been bullied, or battered, or discriminated against but there was no Vhong Navarro who tweeted #PrayForWhoeverWeAre. Kara David and Boy Abunda didn't ask for our time to get interviewed. No print media made us the headline.

Seventh, like any other name with an unnecessary H in it, Vhong is too jologs to read. Add the name Deniece. What the hell were her parents thinking when they coined that name?

People will say "Walang basagan ng trip" and that's the usual response I get from people. Yes. This is a democratic country. We are entitled to discuss about anything but we also have the responsibility to make this world less annoying and more sensible for other lives. Vhong can move on with his life, he can earn millions in a few days, he can have sex with more girls, can fix his nose again. If we continue to talk about them, will millions be fed in our hungry mouths? No. So let's better stop this craziness and move on with our lives.

Let's not make this a national issue.

So What If You Take the Public Commute?

We have heard some local showbiz personalities taking the public transportation (LRT, MRT, jeepney and all the she bangs) recently all because of the unbearable and still unresolved traffic caused by the overabundance of cars and the lack of discipline and respect to the traffic laws that have been poorly enforced to begin with.

While a lot of people admire these artistas for being practical and able to endure the overcrowded train, I don't see anything buzzworthy with it. I mean, yes, they are celebrities, popular, and they can afford private cars but what's the big deal?

I think that the reason masses get gaga screaming (and fainting) whenever they see these stars is that these personalities are inaccessible except in mall shows, fiesta, or free premiere nights. Other than that, people have to spend money to see them personally.

In Hollywood, the likes of Keanu Reeves take the subway regularly and it's a common sight. We don't see it in TMZ. It's not in any headline of a showbiz news, except when their clothes are fashionably unflattering.

The Philippines is such a celebrity-crazy culture and I think that the huge part of who should take the blame is the media. They hype ordinary matters such as this. So what if they take the public commute? Does that mean our "ordinary" commoners have to be extra privileged for being their co-passengers? Do our public transport have to be thankful to them for what they did?

Big deal!

Of Sanitation and Customer Service

My OCD strikes again. Being raised in an environment where money is not allowed on places where food are usually put, McDonald's in Rockwell Business Center Ortigas has got my attention, in a very negative way. The first time their crew member put the utensils on the counter (even on top of tissue paper) for to-go orders, I already got irritated. The image of bacteria crawling toward those utensils disturbs me. Regardless of how clean it appears, it still is a counter. [Some] people place their money on it and it's too unsanitary.

I also remember one time when one of the supervisors accidentally bumped into the coffee section and made those paper cups fall on the floor. She just picked them up and place them back on the rack. It's just funny. Apparently, "wala pang 5 minutes" applies to your store.

I have already told the crew members about this malpractice but they just ignored me.

And so I took the next step - emailing their customer service department. And I was glad I did it. After 24 hours, I got a reply from them.

Last week, I saw the change. They're already using the paper place mat before putting those tissue paper and utensils. That's better. At least I've done those other customers a huge favor - of eating clean food.

I hope all establishments will take customers' comments that positively. And I hope all dissatisfied customers will be proactive in sending their suggestions as well.