[Videos] How NOT to Spot Fake News (Idea Channel)

Fake news is a thing - or at least the media likes to make it a thing. And many major political figures have started to hurl accusations of fake news to discredit criticism and other contrary views. To be fair, there are many cases of legitimately fakes news that aim to misinform and shift opinions in favor of a particular view.

So there's a lot of talk about it and I admit I was waiting for PBS Idea Channel to tackle the subject somehow. And of course they did not take the easy path of basic identification and instead put together a video to help one refine one's criteria for fake news. There's contrary views and there's fake news and it's a disservice to the truth to confuse the two. So yeah, this is a great video.


How NOT To Spot Fake News

[Pink Culture] Alter Twitter

Almost a year ago I decided to create a secondary anonymous Twitter account. It started as an experiment in freer expression when it comes to talking about LGBT-related subjects, sex, and of course politics. And the fact that the account is still alive says something, right?

Alter is the local term for such anonymous secondary Twitter accounts that people create for various reasons. The most readily visible use of course is for hooking up and you'll find a lot of headless chest photos asking if people want to Skype or meet up for whatever like an extension of Grindr and other gay dating apps. Then there are just that are deep in the closet and hoping to explore being LGBT without getting into trouble.

There's also an interesting section of the alter world devoted to People Living with HIV (PLHIV) who use the anonymity of the internet to talk about what they're going through, seek help for dealing with the side-effects of medication and basically just find people who understand them. It's more of the somewhat more endearing parts of Alter Twitter, in my opinion. They're really just a lot of people wanting to feel loved and valued despite how society seems to treat the PLHIV community.

There's a lot to be said about the Alter folks and I think I might try exploring that further in future blog posts. How about you guys - do you have an alter? What do you use alter for? Why do you think you need anonymity to say the things you say?

[Movies] Our Obsession with Live-Action Movie Adaptations of Cartoons

When you think back to the favorite cartoons of your youth, how often do you find yourself wishing that someone would make a live-action movie adaptation of it? I doubt the thought naturally comes up in our minds all that often apart from drunken conversations with friends and while watching movie trailers online. We don't automatically wish all the cartoons that we watched as kids were turned into movies involving actual actors portraying the various characters. But we been trained by Hollywood to respond to trailers of such movies and figure that it can't possibly be all that bad to go see it.

But time and time again, we've seen more cartoon adaptations fail at the box office. We've read scores off critics reviews panning yet another such adaptation for delivering a lousy story with paper thin characters and back story that was never provided or developed.

These days we don't just get straight-up adaptations of classic stories, but instead we get adaptations that are somehow "grittier" or "more mature" in order to draw in older crowds. We continue to participate in Hollywood's efforts to focus on more commercially viable movies with lower perceived risk (since established Intellectual Property  is always better than something new, right?) instead of taking more chances with truly creative venture. I know this part sounds a little too optimistic or just plain idealist, but I'd really like to see new stuff.

To be fair, this is not to say such adaptations are automatically bad. Such stories of our youth  can have pretty big emotional significance and so it only makes sense that some part of us will respond to seeing them again in any form. Such is the human experience.

So will Disney give us a live action adaptation of their Robin Hood cartoon that still involves (CGI) animals or something? Who knows, right?

Movies be crazy that way.

[Technicolor Musings] Today Is (Inter)National Coming Out Day

October 11 is National Coming Out Day today, and like most other special days commemorated in the US, we tend to celebrate it all around the world, especially when they sound pretty important.

Coming out isn't easy and a lot of people won't want to do it, but it's still quite important. A lot of peoples still question why they should come out at all. But coming out can be quite a relief since you stop living a double life. And you help inspire other people that being LGBT isn't the torturous nightmare it sometimes seems to be, especially when you're living in the closet with a family that won't support you.

But it's still a personal decision and it's never good to out other people. Give them time to really come to terms with things and decide for themselves when they're ready.

So today we celebrate all those who have come out and we reach out a hand to those who are scared to take that first step. We're here for you.

[Technicolor Musings] What LGBT Community?

Credit to Pierna Cruzada

The struggle to advance LGBT rights in the Philippines and around the world is often complicated by the "community" itself. There's a lot of hate that gets thrown around within aspects of the community with regard to how everyone "should" behave in line with their gender concepts, but of course the whole point of the community should be to embrace freedom and diversity.

We have a long way to go. But if we're going to get anywhere when it comes to gaining equality for ourselves, we'll need to first learn to accept one another and and stand together for what we deserve.

Be sure to think about what you're going to say to others before you actually say it. There's a lot of casual hate that gets thrown around and that just needs to stop.

[Technicolor Musings] Is Duterte Really An LGBT Ally We Want?

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte by Keith Bacongco via Flickr.

In a recent appearance on Gandang Gabi Vice, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte made a statement in support of LGBT marriage. Duterte continues to feature prominently in the surveys for possible candidates for president, but publicly he has denied interest in running and claims he does not have the resources for running a national campaign. However his continued appearances in the news and shows like GGV kinda implies he's still playing the traditional politics game, complete with singing and dancing for audiences / potential voters.

But Duterte is also associated with humans rights abuses including extra-judiciary killings of criminals in Davao City. There's a reason that it remains to be one of the safest cities in the country - which I admit, may not a bad thing in terms of end result. Still, we've always taught the ends do not justify the means - if anyone can prove his direct involvement of course. Very tricky either way.

So should we just eagerly embrace any candidate who says they're open to supporting LGBT rights? Or should cases like Duterte make us consider his entire history before making a decision.

[Technicolor Musings] About Pro-LGBT Candidates and the #BekiBoto

Last Friday there was a Twitter conversation for #BekiBoto - a discussion of the LGBT vote in the Philippines. There was a lot of focus on the recent KeriBeks event believed to be in support of Mar Roxas more than just being a supposed "LGBT national congress" or whatever, but naturally the conversation branched out into other directions.

A lot of the folks who participated in the conversation repeatedly talked about the need to support political candidates who had a track record of supporting gay rights or were genuine in their support of the LGBT community. But the bigger question remains - who are these candidates? Do we actually have any local politicians who do more than just pay shallow lip service to the community but actually work to implement laws that protect our rights? I honestly can't think of anyone.

So that's the big call to action here - let's try to identify those politicians that deserve the community's support. Let's get community to make itself felt by rallying behind such candidates once we've compiled a list. But first we have to find them. Or maybe members of the community need to stand up and become them?

What we really lack is major support from public figures like TV and movie celebrities or even current political candidates. We need people who will brave the religious backlash and make public declarations in support of LGBT rights. We need to find people like this and show our full support as a community.

So do you know anyone like this? Be sure to leave a comment so we can start to list them down! It doesn't matter if we're talking about local or national candidates - let's find our true supporters!

[Pink Culture] We Need More Than Tolerance In The Philippines

About two years ago, some survey claimed that the Philippines is among the most LGBT-friendly in the world. And I suppose it's easy to see why this may be true given how we see members of the community everywhere ranging from your local hair salon to hosting shows on national television. But in light of the recent US marriage equality ruling, the renewed attention on the LGBT community just stresses how far we have to go.

A more recent survey shows that 7 in 10 Filipinos are against same-sex marriage in the country. The Speaker of the House has also been quoted as saying that he is against any same-sex marriage bills in the House. And just look at the comments section of any news agency for articles about same-sex marriage or LGBT rights and you'll see all the Bible-thumpers proclaiming how to be LGBT is a sin and other statements along those lines.

So it doesn't feel like we're LGBT-friendly - if anything we're only really LGBT-tolerant. Just look at how different it is when a conservative person seems okay with LGBT people outside the home, but the moment a family member comes out all hell breaks loose. There's a weird line between knowing LGBT out there in general and having an LGBT member of the family that changes everything. And thus so many members of the pink community stay in the closet out of fear of rejection and disdain from those they love the most.

But all is not lost - I will always believe in love and love will see us through. That and a lot of hard work and major efforts to educate others why the LGBT community is very much real and why we deserve truly equal treatment. This is not about fighting religion or something - we just want a space of our own that we should feel fully entitled to as human beings. We deserve full recognition and not just tolerance. We deserve acceptance.

[Pink Scene] Why Marriage Equality in the US Matters to the Philippines

Friday's landmark US Supreme Court ruling in favor of same-sex marriage across all 50 states is certainly a significant one, and LGBT rights advocates around the world are taking part in the celebrations for this momentous occasion.

Some have questioned why folks around here have been so vocal in celebrating the news. After all, this is only about rights being extended to US citizens and won't directly affect the Philippines. But while there are no direct effects, it's foolish to think that the US becoming the 21st country where same-sex marriage is legal is a purely domestic matter for the US.

The United States of America remains to be a true superpower in the modern world. It's a country with a lot of military power, yes, but it's also a country with significant political influence. The US is also known for standing up for human rights and nudging its allies to see things in a similar manner here and there.

Beyond their direct actions in the political arena, the US is still a country that many countries, including the Philippines, tend to look up to or aspire to be like to varying degrees. The US as country is quite the influence leader. And the US is often used as an example for what one can be or at least a model for how things might work.

So continue to wave your rainbow flags and change your profile images to rainbow-tinted bits of beauty. Celebrate the successes of LGBT advocates in the US and use their story as an inspiration for what we can hope for here.

We continue to fight for the love we deserve. In the end, love tends to win.

[Pink News] Gay Marriage in the Philippines in Our Lifetime?

On May 19, Jesus Nicardo Falcis III filed a petition with the Philippine Supreme Court to nullify provisions of the Family Code that prevent gay marriage in the country. It's a rather bold move that should prove to be an interesting legal at the very least regardless of the outcome. If anything, it represents one of the more serious efforts to get the gay marriage question discussed in legal circles. At the very least I expect our own legislators to give more thought to the matter, which will most likely include a few bills that will try to reinforce the Family Code or introduce other legal restrictions geared towards preventing gay marriage from becoming a reality in the Philippines.

A few days before the filing was made public by the Supreme Court, this commentary piece appeared on GMA News with the mantra that seems to be in use more and more when it comes to talking about this subject - Not In Our Lifetime. It refers to the usual answer when people ask if they think gay marriage will ever become legal here. Most don't expect it to happen in our lifetime and thus even the major LGBT groups have focused more on pushing anti-discrimination legislation as opposed to going straight to gay marriage.

Falcis echoed the "not in my lifetime" statement in his own opinion piece over on Rappler, where he talks about his reasons for challenging the Supreme Court in this manner. It's a bold move and I laud him for his efforts and those of us in the LGBT community ought to do our part to show our support. Sure, our Supreme Court isn't quite as "cool" as the US Supreme Court tends to be on such matters, but every bit helps.

Just over the weekend we saw Ireland vote in support for gay marriage on a national scale. It was the first time that a popular vote determined the legality of gay marriage for a country. And gay marriage won with about 62% of the vote - which is pretty darned amazing. There's a wave of change slowly sweeping across the world with gay marriage now legal in about 20 countries so far. It's not exactly a tsunami, but it's definitely gaining strength as time passes.

Maybe we will live to see gay marriage in the Philippines in our lifetime. But if that reality is going to become real any sooner, it will need more people to show their support and be prepared to get the heavy lifting done. The Ireland vote won because of a lot of hard work to raise awareness and gain support. Falcis' Supreme Court petition is one big step forward, but there's going to be a longer legal fight ahead of us and we need to get out there and get our voices heard.

[Pink Culture] RuPaul's DragCon 2015

So last weekend, "HERstory" happened when the first RuPaul's DragCon took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, there was an actual convention for drag queens. And we're not just talking about a slightly expanded tour even for the various queens of RuPaul's Drag Race, but an actual bonafide major convention event with almost 14,000 participants. That is simply amazing.

To think that drag culture remains to be a rather misunderstood segment of the LGBT community given it's more about an entertainment experience rather than "just" a preference for expressing one's sexuality in a certain manner. And this is probably one of the greatest achievements of RuPaul's Drag Race - being able to bring drag culture to millions of viewers around the world.

[Pink Scene] Goodbye, BED Manila

So earlier in the month, the surprise announcement hit social media that BED Manila was closing its doors after 12 years of partying. And while I haven't been to BED since it moved to its Greenfield District location, the news still made me feel a little sad. I have more than my fair share of histoy at BED's original Malate location and it's always sad when a gay institution like this closes shop. The LGBT community here is always in need of safe spaces to be themselves and pretty much have fun when needed.

So by the time this post finally publishes, BED would have completed it's Last Dance closing event and those red doors are going to stay closed for now. I wasn't able to squeeze in a last visit to the bar before all this, but I suppose that's just as well given how I've already buried my history there.

It's okay to feel sad about BED closing. It's definitely a sad turn of events. But also make sure to focus on the good times and celebrate all the good times on that dance floor. BED raised a lot of us queer people and I'm sure that we all learned things there in one way or another.

[Movies] How Far Should Remakes Go?

So the first trailer for the new Jem and the Holograms movie finally hit the internet and well...reactions have been mixed, to say the least. The primary criticisms of fans of the original 80's animated TV series involve the loss of show elements like Synergy or The Misfits and instead presenting a more generic sort of young success story. Regardless of where you stand in terms of what makes a proper Jem movie for current audiences, there's a lot to be said about such remake efforts.

Time and time again we've seen older properties being revitalized somehow and brought into the present as a remake or update of some sort. But a lot of times we're seeing movies that go to great lengths to introduce new concepts into the franchise to the point of taking out a lot of the elements that fans of the original show or movie held near and dear to their hearts.

And you'd think that remakes are always going to be about that nostalgia factor - as much as you want to introduce new audiences to the franchise, you still want to get those older fans to go and watch or bring their kids or things like that. But instead we get these monstrosities that I just don't understand what purpose they mean to serve.

Sure, some studio executive figured out that working with existing franchises is a safer bet than trying to tell completely original stories all the time. Thus the reason why sequels and remakes continue to come out one after another. But then why disguise a completely new intellectual property as an older franchise? Why tell a story that only shares a name with an older property as a common thread between them?

Just look at this trailer for the Jem movie, which is essentially a repacked Hanna Montana or Justin Bieber story using a different set of girls. I'm sure it's a decent enough story on its own. But why claim that it's a Jem movie if you're going to drop all the other elements of the original show? We need to stop doing this, Hollywood! It's got to stop! Even Michael Bay's remake of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was still better than this since at least it had a mutant mish-mash of elements of older versions of the franchise woven into the narrative. This Jem trailer is just so, so, so alien from what Jem used to be.

Be brave enough to take more risks and tell new stories. Don't go to ridiculous lengths to dig up older franchises only to totally ignore what made the original show what it was and just throw all that out the window. We can do so much better.

[Pink Culture] Katya is My Spirit Animal

So when the contestants for Season 7 of RuPaul's Drag Race were announced, I wasn't immediately sold on most of them, which is sort of typical for me. It's hard to tell what the queens will be like based on still images after all.

Well into Season 7, I can firmly state that I absolutely love Katya, as crazy as that may seem. She's such an interesting and entertaining character that it's hard not to love her. Sure, her brand of comedy is often vulgar and crass, but that's all part of the fun, really.

Katya is my spirit animal and so today we're going to celebrate her.

[Pink Culture] We Deserve More Than Just Tolerance

In June, the Inquirer cited the Philippines as being one of the most gay-friendly countries in the world based on their interpretation a Pew Research Center survey. The headline was definitely clickbait since we were pretty much in the top ten countries who answered positively to a particular question. But given its abstract nature, it was easy to confuse.

When we look at how the local media have handled the Jennifer Laude case (and that's not even considering the madness of the comments sections of these articles), we can see a very different picture when it comes to the greater LGBT community. It's easy for Filipinos to theoretically "tolerate" homosexuals - especially those that fit their internal stereotypes about parlor gays, TV entertainers and butch lesbian security guards to rattle off a few concepts. It's easy to be tolerant when it comes to gay people who aren't part of your family. But once the LGBT person is a lot closer to home - especially when it's a family member - then things tend to change.

The absence of laws that protect homosexual rights and provide equal rights including marriage and adoption is a clear sign of where the country is. The fact that the only LGBT party-list group had to go to the Supreme Court to remain valid since their supposed national constituency was cited as a reason for disqualification is another example. The LGBT community as a whole is a big question mark in many people's minds - one that leads to odd questions about "immoral behavior" or whatever you want to call it.

Just this week on a news item about Tim Cook formally coming out as gay was immediately peppered with comments citing homosexuality as some sort of sin with the usual quotes from Leviticus. And to see comments like those on just about any news article that talks about aspects of the LGBT community is pretty disappointing. And when you see or hear this sort of negative feedback on a regular basis, it can be pretty damaging indeed.

No, tolerance is never going to be enough. We're not some pain that people try to ignore since it's too expensive to go to the doctor. We're not a problem to be dealt with or a segment of the population that needs to be cured of some disorder. We're just people, and because of that we deserve equal rights and protection of our freedom to be who we are. We deserve to love freely and to contribute fully to this society in a manner that allows us to be proud of who we are.

And thus we continue to fight for true acceptance and full recognition in the eyes of the law.

[Blog Action Day] Inequality

This year's Blog Action Day topic is Inequality, which feels like one of the bigger topics that this little blogging "event" is trying to tackle. There are quite a number of different forms of inequality out there that continue to plague the global society at large.

In many ways, I feel that a lot of our issues related to inequality largely stem from the decision to put your own needs before all others and the willingness to embrace different labels, categories and stereotypes that enable one to see themselves in a more positive light versus others outside your own group or segment.

Income Inequality - is an economic reality that shows government policies do not fully support sufficient job creation and instead focus on niche interests of controlling powers and groups. It means that we remain primarily focused on making ends meet and are unable to reach out to others and find ways to help uplift them from their bleaker economic realities. This is not necessarily a call for increased government welfare programs or donation drives but instead a more intelligent look at our employment issues and to determine more effective strategies for dealing with poverty and unfair business practices that favor the rich.

Gender Inequality - this now has many aspects ranging from the earlier women's empowerment movement and of course the LGBT rights movement as well. Recent events remind us how women are not safe on the internet and abuse and harassment remain far too common. LGBT rights are still in dispute throughout the world ranging from those simply fighting for their legal right to be recognized to more "advanced" battles related to same-sex marriage. And again we continue to see the need to limit people into "acceptable" stereotypes and other definitions of "normal" behavior as a basis for hate speech, discrimination and other challenges of inequality.

Change begins with each of us thinking beyond ourselves and learning to truly keep an open mind. Defeating inequality starts with giving up assumptions and preconceptions about other people and trying to find mutual ground in order to work together to find solutions to our problems. Discrimination and unfair treatment won't go away until we learn to see people as precisely that - people. We are more than our assertions and biases.

[Technicolor Musings] Happy LGBT Pride, Geeky Readers!

By the time this blog entry publishes, my partner Tobie and I are probably still struggling to get out of bed after what I assume has been a wild night of celebrating LGBT Pride with many of our friends at O Bar. I've written about why Tobie and I love O Bar so much quite a number of times on this blog and the others that I manage. Our desire to support them so much is what primarily drives this for us.

I do hope that all of you took some time this month (with it being LGBT Pride Month) to show a little love and support for the LGBT community. Whether or not you identify as part of the community, it's never too late to get on the side of true equality in terms of legal rights. And we in the LGBT community can use all the support that we can get - such is the struggle of any minority group within a democratic society.

LGBT Pride, or simply gay pride, isn't just about partying or making a fool of yourself in public. It's more about standing up and being counted among those who believe that the LGBT community deserves to have the same right as other human beings. This is not about special rights or simply giving something extra to gay people - this is about extending existing rights to the gay community, as we deserve as citizens of this country.

And so we wave the colors and we march and we do all sorts of other things to try and advance our cause step by step. And we have a long way to go.

[Technicolor Musings] Let's Take A Moment

On this calm Sunday afternoon, let's take a moment and think about how far the LGBT struggle has come both worldwide and here in the Philippines. Think of this as counting our blessings - practicing the fine art of being grateful for the good in the world instead of forever regretting what has yet to be.

The Philippines is still a country where we can walk the streets as members of the LGBT community. Sure there are still risks of violence and ridicule and we're still trying to address the number of hate crimes out there, but for the most part we can walk the streets with our heads held high. There are other countries that have it far worse given greater anti-LGBT violence and even laws that have criminalized being LGBT entirely.

Media representation of the LGBT community has made some interest steps forward in terms of going beyond comic relief. And while shows like My Husband's Lover, That's My Tomboy or I Am Pogay, we've reached a point when LGBT individuals are presented during prime TV viewing spots. And while we can never claim that any of these shows represent the full LGBT spectrum (nor are they obligated to), they're all still steps in the right direction.

We may not have a universal understanding of SOGIE just yet but we have made great strides forward in terms of raising awareness related to LGBT issues and getting a few politicians actually trying to spearhead the charge to get some actual LGBT-centric legislation pushed forward. Actually getting any of these bills made into laws will still take a lot more work, we're getting there. And all this but a taste of the many good things that we've accomplished over the last few years.

We've come a long way and we're pretty much able to come out of the closet with a lot less risk and strife. And any night where we can celebrate our freedom in LGBT clubs or laugh at drag queen shows with our friends are all good things. So smile, savor the moment and recharge to continue the fight for LGBT rights tomorrow.

[Technicolor Musings] Appreciating Facebook's Improvements

This week the big news has been about Facebooks new options for one's gender identity. It may not seem like a big thing, but providing this option to people in order t better represent themselves online is an amazing step forward in the right direction. And while there are those who choose to see the negative side in things and complain that it took 10 years for Facebook to get around to doing this or other such complaints. But really, we need to celebrate progress for its own sake. I mean come on, they've coded in 56 different options plus you can also set what pronouns Facebook will use when referring to you. The little things matter!

And this comes like 3 years after Facebook provided more LGBT-friendly options for one's relationship status including "domestic partnership" among others. As much as Facebook's privacy snafus annoy me to heck, I do appreciate how they're taking steps to better represent their LGBT members. And when a social media platform as big as Facebook makes changes like this, it certainly sends ripples throughout the tech community that get more people thinking about how they want to handle LGBT concerns as well.

So good job, Facebook! Now all we need is for you to get your act together in terms of your News Feed filtering.

[Technicolor Musings] Should LGBT Couples Bother Buying Property?

Rainbow over the house in the sugar cane fields by B.navez via Wikimedia Commons

I'm one of those people who dream of owning property. And I'm not talking about some condominium - that feels like a lie. I'm talking about an actual house standing on a plot of land - even if it's just a townhouse or something like that. I guess I'm a little old-fashioned that way.

A friend had once argued that it's a more practical to just rent a home versus buying one for various reasons. But eventually, the argument sort of boiled down to the fact that home ownership for LGBTs may not be the most practical thing, especially since it's not like we can get married and such.

My recent house-hunting efforts sort of revived this particular memory. And thus today's blog post.