The Pope on Facebook

Pope welcomes Facebook, but cautions, using antiquated words.

Trust Benedict to pretend that he understands the new reality by using online jargon like social networking sites and digital divide. His ignorance shows when he used labels appropriate eons ago like marginalize and obsessive.

Here is the feed from Associated Press:


VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI says social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace can foster friendships and understanding, but warns they also can isolate people and marginalize others.

Benedict urged a culture of online respect in his annual message Friday for the World Day of Communications.  Benedict welcomes as a "gift" new technologies such as social networking sites, saying they respond to the "fundamental desire" of people to communicate.

But he also warns that "obsessive" virtual socializing can isolate people from real interaction and deepen the digital divide by excluding those already marginalized.  He urges producers to ensure that the content respects human dignity and the "goodness and intimacy of human sexuality.

______________

Obsessive is the adjective form of ob·ses·sion (əb-sěsh'ən, ŏb-) which means  compulsive preoccupation with a fixed idea or an unwanted feeling or emotion, often accompanied by symptoms of anxiety, or a compulsive, often unreasonable idea or emotion.

Perhaps the Pope does not understand that virtual socializing is about connecting with friends and establishing connections. What is unreasonable about that?

Yeah, I know I am just ranting. I am just deeply disappointed that the Vatican refuses to accept that its moral framework is irrelevant to the world today. The Church needs a new "eye" to see today's reality.

Okay, it is not about grammar and word usage, it is about obstinacy.

Tragic Tale of Two Cities

Let us divert from blogpesticide to more serious stuff.

Two of my most favorite cities in the world -- Baguio City and Cagayan de Oro City-- are going through weather-related crisis these days. The temperature in Baguio has dropped to record-level lows, prompting worries about the health of the poor residents who don't have fire places and can't afford thick blankets. It might drop below 7 degrees anytime soon; I can just imagine the biting cold and what it means to humans, animals and vegetation. This is my hometown right now; and I always loved the cold, but eight degrees is too much. It is too cold for comfort.

Here is a blog post for updates. http://www.ikuwaderno.com

Cagayan de Oro is experiencing the worst flood in its history. This is my second hometown. I spent years at the Ateneo de Cagayan, both as student and volunteer. Cagayanos, bless their souls, are a very friendly and warm people, who are not used to tragedy and catastrophe. I wonder if they have the resilience required to go through an environmental crisis like this.

Here is a blog for updates: pinoyteens.net

Touche!

I cant't understand why is it so difficult to edit before finalizing a road sign that is bound to be permanent.

Twilight, Not at All

blog pipi at bingi, an inventive header, wrote about Takipsilim, the supposedly Pinoy adaptation of the Hollywood hit "Twilight". The news, it turned out, was denied by the network ABS-CBN. And well, the grammar, it turned out, needed some validating as well.

Here is the article:

"Twilight will be turned into a Philippine TV series and it is entitled Takipsilim.

It makes me think what the other movies would be called? Bagong Buwan for New Moon? Ceasar Montano already did a movie with that title. Anyhow, ABS-CBN should have a better screen adaptation of Twilight. The title Takipsilim isn’t so bad.

Since Takipsilim will start shooting this February 2009, it’s safe to assume that we can watch this series as early as March. "

1.. The first sentence, a compound construction, moves the tense from future to present in a blink of an eye. First, it "will be" turned (future), then "it is" entitled (present). The "it" subject of the second independent clause refers already to the TV series, which has not been decided yet -- so the tense should be future. But for better construction to connect two ideas like these, try complex rather than compound sentence. "Twilight will be made into a Philippine TV series which will be entitled Takipsilim."

2. The use of "screen adaptation" invites ambiguity; the phrase is usually applied to the transfer of material from book to a movie screenplay. The transfer of content material from film to TV is simply called television adaptation.

3. The last sentence needs a reconstruction. "Since Takipsilim will start shooting this February 2009, it’s safe to assume that we can watch this series as early as March." It is best to sustain the point of view of a sentence. If Takipsilim is the subject of the dependent clause, it should be the subject of the independent clause.

Thus:

Since Takipsilim will start shooting this February 2009, it will probably be aired as early as March.

(ABS-CBN denies the rumor.)