Proclaimed a National Artist, not awarded
The Comelec clams up. Amnesty International expresses alarm over the killings of Filipino journalists. Overseas, Thais wonder, is Thaksin a “peekaboo prime minister,” and what does it all mean? After all, he went on vacation and is now attempting a comeback.
Also, a persnickety clarification. National Artist is a title (titles in general are not forbidden: what are forbidden by the Constitution are titles of nobility). Someone becomes a National Artist by being proclaimed as such by the President of the Philippines. By virtue of having been proclaimed a National Artist, the person then gets to be conferred the insignia of the Order of National Artists, which symbolizes their belonging to the group of National Artists of the Philippines. Therefore, simply to refer to the “National Artist Award” is erroneous, forgetting both the origins and meaning of what someone becoming a National Artist involves and means. The title was, of course, inspired by the title of National Artist of the USSR, which has been carried over in some former Soviet republics.
So read this news article and see what’s wrong: FPJ named National Artist for Film. It should have read, “FPJ proclaimed National Artist for Film.” This story, for example, is written correctly: Poe proclaimed National Artist for Movies.
Parellel Universes (pioneering Philippine medical blog) hosts, for the third time, Grand Rounds, an online medical journal, in the form of commentaries and a roundup of interesting medical blog entries. A sampling of interesting entries, for the medical professional and layman alike: to be, or not to be, present at a resuscitation; a new quit smoking pill; and which sugar substitute’s best.
Something that caught my eye: Shrinkette puts together something we’ll see pretty often in the future: the blog equivalent of a festschrift for a departing (or departed) blogger.
In the punditocracy, my Arab News column for this week is Assassinations Destroying the Future of Filipino Journalists (under a different title, it will also be my Inquirer column tomorrow, that’s how strongly I feel about the issue). Dan Mariano devotes his column to the same death that inspired mine, and explains why everyone should care. IKn his column, he refers to a blogger who knew the slain journalist.
Manuel Buencamino ponders the lurid details of a model’s spectacular allegations (and the ensuing controversy).
Torn and Frayed points to a funny story (which becomes hilarious when you view the film clip), of a fellow applying for a job and mistakenly invited to guest in the BBC’s studio because he had the same first name as an expert. Watch the film clip of the interview and read this follow-up story from The Guardian.
And something nifty, via Philippine Commentary: photos of the first working prototype of the $100 laptop computer. Ignatian Perspective on computing obsolescence.
The San Francisco Chronicle launches a podcast channel for Filipinos, a groundbreaking effort. What’s interesting, besides the effort, market, and subject matter, is that the podcasts will alternate between different Philippine languages. Click here to check out Pinoy Pod.
Technorati Tags: Blogging, journalism, medals, media, Philippines, politics
