The Story of Finding The Book memoirs of Klitorika

Before my blog/book review for memoirs of KLITORIKA, here is story on how I finally got the copy of that book.

I started my journey to find that precious jewel at 12:30 PM. I took the MRT to go to Megamall. Why Megamall when SM North is just around the corner? Well, not really. Just a jeepney ride from my school. It was because I haven't been there since I was 8 or 9 years old. Yeah, it's unbelievable but true. I really don't like going to malls. Lagi lang sumasakit paa ko sa kalalakad.

Anyway, because she said that her books are now available at the National Bookstore, that was my first stop. But to my dismay, her book is nowhere in sight. So, I spent an hour on the store scanning all the books that piqued my interest. I spotted this very interesting book written by Victor Corpuz about the tactics of the NPA. Well, even though I'm very much interested in that book, it was not the one I'm planning to buy.

So off I went to another store which is Powerbooks. I'm not expecting to see her book there (because she didn't mention that it is available there) but I'm surprised to find another interesting book published by PSICOM, authored by the 'famous' blogger named "Jay Panti." All of his three books are available there. But again no matter how funny or interesting his book was, it was not the one I'm planning to buy.

So after enduring hunger (because I didn't take my lunch)and pain (of walking), I've finally decided to go back to where I should have went to: SM North.

And there it is. The last copy of it. And so I immediately ran and grabbed the book (nalaglag pa nga iyung mga katabi dahil para akong magnanakaw na nanghablot ng bag, hehe.. :D) and held tight to it; as if I had found a tresure worth a billion dollars. (overpriced ata? hehe.. :D) Walangya talaga, nagpunta pa ko ng malayo tapos nandito lang pala. Its alright. It was worth it. Anyway, the rest is said below. :)

memoirs of KLITORIKA: A Blog and Book Review

Shocking title? Well, it may be shocking to my Filipino readers but to others, it may not. But as for me, it came as a surprise to see a blog written by a Filipina in a most 'unconservative' way. It may lead the Filipino 'moralists' and conservatives in an uproar for such a blog but I believe, it is timely to see, read and have a blog that talks differently about being a Filipina that is tied to social norms and 'breaking free' from it.

And as my own way of celebrating 'Buwan ng Pambansang Wika' (National Language Month) here in the Philippines, I'm giving you my first ever blog and book review rolled into one. And the first featured blog/book is memoirs of KLITORIKA.

Why is it a blog and a book? Well, she had recently published here first ever book with the same title as her blog. It is a collection of her blog posts with a little revisions but these revisions surely added up 'a lot of spice' into her work.

I admire her for coming out and tells it all in her blog and book. It is indeed a brave attempt to create a 'new niche' in blogs and literature (esp. Phil. literature which I still view as very conservative and reserved). Naunahan niya ako. :) Medyo matagal ko na rin pinaplano na gumawa ng libro na may kapareho niyang tema. But still I think mine would be a lot different.

Going back to her works, a lot would surely raise their eyebrows once they have just read the first part of it. They would surely cry out "This is smut" or "This is a sign of the moral decandence of the youth!!", etc. (Can somebody take me to the hospital, my nose is now bleeding, hahaha.. :D) But that would be for somebody who is not open to new ideas and new thoughts. Somebody without an open mind (and open legs, hahaha... :D) would surely not understand what she says.

I have just bought a copy of the book (the last one in National Bookstore in SM North) and like a child that has finally got his lollipop, I immediately read the book once I got inside the bus. (Well, there's a REALLY LOOONG story on how I finally got to have a copy of that book.) I didn't care the fact that I was standing up. (Kasi wala nang maupuan sa bus.) And It was just a few minutes later that I've realized that some people are raising their brows. At dun ko lang napagtanto na nakatingin sila sa cover. Maybe, the title shocked them, or the apple that looked like the female genitalia. (O may bayad yan ate klitorika, advertising mula sa akin, haha..) Well, I'm very much sure that one of them would buy the book; out of curiosity.

As I browse through its first few pages, I'm really awed on how she was able to say it all: from the most 'intimate and erotic' moments of her life to the most 'philosophical thoughts' she have. Your senses would be tickled (especially between your legs), but as you end each story, you will learn something from it and will make you say, "Oo nga noh, bakit kaya ganun?"

And as my last words, let me share you my favorite excerpt from this book and sorry no translation for this:

"...Pero syempre habang lumalaki at nagkakaisip tayo, nagkakaroon na rin tayo ng lakas ng loob na baguhin, ipagbalewala at kalimutan ang mga paniniwala, tradisyon at relihiyong nakagisnan natin dahil sa impluwensiya ng maraming bagay, karanasan at tao sa paligid natin o dahil na rin sa sarili nating pagpapasya."

Lipat Bahay

My WordPress Blog: http://pinoywriter.net/

It was out of curiosity that I applied for a FREE web domain at a site. I thought it was a some sort of a SCAm. But, wow. They are really noble indeed. And after a month, I finally got my OWN, FREE web domain. And I'm glad that I'm going to use it for WordPress.

It had been two years since I've heard a lot from bloggers that WordPress is a better platform than the others (like what I'm using right now). But I'm not paying any attention to these criticisms (for Blogger) and praises (for WordPress) until now.

I'm thinking a thousand times whether I should move out of Blogger to WordPress. Well, I have been always wanting to have my own domain name which I've finally got from good-hearted people but as of now, I've got no issues with Blogger.

So I've contacted the benevolent provider of my domain name and I've asked if they could transfer its use from WordPress to Blogger but unfortunately they won't do it. They just told me that they would help me in using WordPress.

I've started to learn about its features and it is not that hard to use. It is even easier to use than Blogger. But can someone out there give me an advice on what to do.

What I'm worried about is the fact that I'm going to start again from scratch. My Alexa, PR and everything else would go down to zero. I have to re-market my blog again and as you all know, it took me two years to reach this point.

By the way, the domain name is http://pinoywriter.net. It's really a good domain name. Shorter and easy to remember than my http://manunulat-ako.blogspot.com/. I have already imported my posts from and some ads.

What can you say guys? I do hope to get advice or help from techie guys and gals out there.

Thanks a lot.

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The Bangsamoro State?

moro islamic liberation front (MILF)

Photo Courtesy of PulitzerCenter.org

Yesterday, the Supreme Court issued a Temporary Restraining Order on the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement that would create a larger Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao that would be called the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity between the government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front. This was a 'victory' for the opponents of this MOA. And as for me, we should not take steps on resolving the conflict by further dividing ourselves.

I also believe that to solve the problem of the MILF or the Abu Sayaf and the communist insurgency elsewhere is to provide the much needed basic social services of the people (e.g. education, health, housing). Mindanao had been long neglected as well as the far-flung communities which are heavily infested with communist insurgents. I believe that these 'revolutionaries' (not rebels, because in the first place, they are crying out genuine problems), would not have the guts to take up arms against the established government if they are receiving these services which are indeed, very basic and very simple. Yet why in all these years, the government had failed to give?

And another question? Why are they in a hurry? Well, one answer that I have thought of is that because solving the 'Moro rebellion' is one of the main policies of the Arroyo regime, they would want to solve it right away so that she can 'proudly claim' that she has 'solved' it. And well maybe help her approval ratings go up. But hey Mrs. Arroyo, you are not solving the problem. You are creating a new one by giving the MILF the reason to push through for an independent Bangsamoro State. Well, I would be one of the many Filipinos who would stand up for a united Philippines. Religion or ethnicity should not be a dividing factor in our country. And it should not be a reason for separation. Umayos ka nga Gloria.

gloria macapagal arroyo

Photo Courtesy of geoconger.wordpress.com

On Floods and Rivers

flood in the philippines

Photo courtesy of news.bbc.co.uk

Here in the Philippines, it is not unusual to see flooded streets. Well, it would be rare to see floods in cities like Puerto Prinsesa or in Subic but elsewhere, flooding is a grave problem. Like in our community (Barangay Sta. Ines), for the past two weeks, we have always been underwater. Although the flood waters would recede sometime in the afternoon but what is quite unusual is that the flood is now knee-deep. When I was a kid, floods would usually be no higher than a adult's legs. And also, it had never came into our house. Yet for the past 2 years, our living room would sometimes be flooded too.

There was this incident last year wherein we just woke up to find our house underwater. My bag was soaking wet (because I have placed it on the floor), our ancient and primitive computer (which luckily survived the flood) and all of our shoes. It was really a mess and it was the first time that floods came into our house. Well, we were not the only ones who suffered the same fate. Everyone in our community was not spared.

Well, our community is surrounded by a river so it is not surprising that during high tides we would expect floods. But what would further aggravate the problem are the following: releasing of water from the different dams in Bulacan, one in Angat and Bustos, a typhoon that has a lot of rain to bring and the very inefficient flood control projects the provincial government is doing.

Let me talk about the so-called 'flood-control projects.' Why so-called? Because instead of 'controlling' or mitigating the effects of the floods. It had made them even worse.

Obando is one of the municipalities in Bulacan that is always underwater. And there is this road that connects it to our town (Bulakan, not to be confused with the province of Bulacan) which never runs out of water. So to solve the problem, they've decided to build a road that would be higher that the previous one. A great solution indeed especially for the commuters and public utility jeeps that ply the route. But the solution created another problem.

Where would you expect the flood waters to go now that it is blocked by a road? Exactly, to other low lying areas such as our town. Soon, it is now our roads that are flooded. And they have another 'innovative' solution for that. They have also built a road that is higher that the previous one. And so, another problem was created again. The water goes further down to low lying communities such as ours. And I think, this is the 'flood control' solution that our provincial government is doing in other areas. Well, isn't it a sign of inefficiency? We can't just blame it on global warming or climate change. Because, we can do something. No, we can do a lot.

One is the strict implementation of the law against the dumping of garbage on the river. I guess they're starting it but they are not CONTINUALLY doing it. Just like the case of our national gov't. Two, a ban on the further reclamation of the river banks. This may sound new to others but here, it is no secret that some establishments or houses further extend their lots to the river. So the natural flow of the river is blocked and surely the water will rise further worsening the flood problem. Three, start the long overdue dredging of the river systems. It is a temporary solution but it can help a lot in mitigating the flood problem. And so that people would further appreciate the importance of our rivers, try to put up a route for ferries to ply along the river. It is also one great way to promote tourism, decongest traffic and to bring back life to our rivers.

I regret that when I was I kid, I didn't have the chance to swim in a river. It was kinda disheartening to hear stories not-so-long-ago of my parents or older relatives swimming in the river and catching some fish. But I was still lucky to experience riding a boat across the river. It only happened once. And I really treasure it. Still, I'm hoping that in the near future, we can eventually swim again in our rivers.

Wrapping Up July

Many things have happened to my blog this July. And it somehow made me happy despite all of my problems in life. Here are some of what happened to my blog the past month.

For the first time in two years, I have been able to reach two targets for my blog: One, to be able to reach 10,000 visitors and well the other one is to reach 15,000.

And so for the first time, I have been able to reach both targets within a month. And as of yesterday, I have already passed the 16,000 mark.

Yet, I am still hoping to get stable traffic to my website. Because there are still some days wherein there would be less visitors to my sites and some days where there is a sudden surge of visitors. On the average, I'm not getting more than a hundred visitors everyday which is my next target for this month. Last June, I have stopped using automated traffic sites because it is only a total waste of time and it only brings you little traffic. Except for LinkReferral which is a good site not just to bring in traffic but to link with other bloggers as well. And I'm hoping to get my target of 15,000 visitors a month before the year ends. Quite low compared to other blogs out there which receives those 15,000 visitors a week or even a day, but I guess its a good start.

So to help me reach that target, I've lately tried to focus on these three options:

Quality Content + Current Events: Lately, I've been trying much to write short but very educational and useful articles like my last post about the Philippine-American War. Well, this is also part of what I have learned about SEO. Using certain keywords can really drive traffic in. I signed up for Google Analytics two weeks ago and I'm really quite surprised to see my articles getting quite a number of direct traffic from search engines. And here are the top 5 articles that recieved unique targeted visits in the past 16 days (July 15-30):

It is not already surprising to find my 'pinay sex scandal' topic to be the most popular article in my blog. Quite a lot of bloggers have already joined the bandwagon of cleaning up the image of Pinays in cyberspace and a lot of them recieved a lot of visits thru different search engines because of those keywords. Well, perverts may be sad to find none of these 'scandals' in these sites, but bloggers are really really happy. (like me, hehehe..)

LinkReferral:Just like what I've said before LinkReferral really helps me to build up my Technorati Authority by exchanging links with other bloggers. It also drives you some traffic and unlike other traffic boosting sites, it's all manual. You are the one who gets to see the site, drop some reviews on it or add it as your favorite. LinkReferral has also categorized the sites so that you can choose on what type of sites you would want to see. If you see that a site is miscategorized, you can report it to them so that it can be removed or relocated to its category.

Entrecard: This is really a great service for all bloggers. Helps you build your social network and I get to see a lot of my fellow Filipino bloggers here.

And here are my site stats as of July 31:

  • 16.,362 visits since July 2006 (carry over from my First Blog)
  • 13, 050 visits since 15 November 2006 according to ClustrMaps (starting from my Second Blog)
  • 313 direct traffic (since 15 July 2008)
  • 121 visits via search engines (since 15 July 2008)
  • 11 readers
  • Ranked 325,621 site on Alexa
  • Technorati Authority of 58
  • Earned more than $20 via AdBrite (I'm hoping to recieve my first payout of $15.17 next month)
  • Total of 50 posts in this blog and 61 comments (315 posts in all of my blogs - see it on my blog network)

And thanks to all of my Top Entrecard Droppers:

Thanks for dropping by. :D And this month, I hope I can launch my small contest. :D

Happy Weekend!!!

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