On the Spot

It's almost a year into my blogging foray. I reckon it's time for some assessment.

Last month, I received special mention in Señor Enrique's blog for having potential of sorts in this blog of mine. With the recognition coming from him, it means a lot to me (read further to know one of the reasons). This peculiar meme is supposed to originate here, wherein each blogger is tasked to highlight five blogs that stimulate the intellect. In this part of the blogging world where I lurk, it's an impossible task to limit the recognition to just five; thus, I would just go with Señor Enrique's criteria and name those bloggers that are still "small-time" for now but have great potential waiting to be unleashed. This is still a long list, though, so I would limit my choices among those in my links (as of this writing).

With the modified criteria, I suppose it's safe to say that Philippine Blog Awards 2007 finalist Nostalgia Manila, Photobloggies 2007 Best Southeast Asian Photoblog Awards finalist Sidney and Philippine Blog Awards 2007 Best Photoblog Señor Enrique are overqualified. Nevertheless, do visit them and experience the Philippines in the past and in the present through their words, images and videos.

Without further ado, behold my list, in no particular order, of Five Bloggers of Great Potential:

Untold Pinoy Stories -- Nick's not-so-blind items taken from the repressed or forgotten collective memories of Filipinos are told in a style that will blow you away.

utakGago -- When I first encountered Kevin in his previous blog (he changes URLs a lot), the huge following made him loom larger than life. Now a fresh grad from high school, he remains the opinionated fellow who can discuss anything and everything under the sun.

Kamurawayan (and Meljohn Art) -- Ever since my high school days, Meljohn has been the go-to guy when it comes to designing T-shirt graphics, among other artistic requirements. Now with two blogs of his own, this accomplished visual artist shares the Bicol experience to the rest of the world.

Gusot -- Jonell is a creative mind whose stories sway your emotions. His current blog holds but a fraction of his literary contribution in the Internet.

A Nagueño in the Blogosphere -- From hard-hitting commentaries to Bicol-related links to poignant family stories, Willy delivers straight from Naga City.

The above-listed are hereby appointed to spread the link love in their respective blogs.

Now I feel bad; most of my blog links are left out. And these links belong to personal friends! Actually I have long intended to write an entry about those listed in my links, and I guess this is the right time.

The one person who made me sign up for a Blogger account way back in 2002 is Toj. It was for membership to a now defunct group blog of math majors, the title of which, by the way, was where I got "Everybody Counts" from. Why defunct? Well, unlike her, we were yet to grasp the concept of blogging. She is the first blogger that I know of, and the one with an online clout while still in college. Such prominence has setbacks though, as her insightful posts on relationships get plagiarized often. Back in college, I also found Kerwin's blog. Ever since then he has been the pop culture observer. He is actually a quiet type, and his superior math and writing skills are very effective in encrypting his personal messages.

My other math contemporaries have since wised up to the ways of blogging somewhat. The first among my after-college discoveries is Krislan's blog containing thoughts (angsty and otherwise) of a third-world petit bourgeois. These are thoughts that I could relate to (enough that I could expose his hidden agendas), but would hesitate to voice out and consider them taboo or brash or unpopular. Unfortunately, the need to preserve the means of keeping body and soul together prevailed, forcing Kris to hide his blog from potential employers using the new Blogger privacy feature. I've discovered also in quick succession (because they're networked) the blogs of my math friends Maymay, Joy, Tago, and Sam, among others. Theirs are personal blogs for now, but the few posts they have hint at their incisive thinking (guess who got Manolo Quezon's attention).

One final factor that pushed me into blogging was another blog discovery from another group of friends. There was once a bad day at work that had me reeling from multiple problems. But today I no longer remember the details of those unfortunate events; instead, what I remember was that due to some sense of longing or an urge to seek refuge, I searched for blogs pertaining to my college org, DS, and found Ailen's LJ. One particular entry, amongst funny snippets of life and deep personal reflections, led me to the comforting conclusion that the "magic" that made DS membership worthwhile is still there among its current members. In light of this happy thought, I left the office with a smile.

Ah, behold the power of blogs to uplift! I guess an organization that proclaims "we take care of you" will attract membership from the right kind of people most of the time. And so, even with their varied topics, there is this common streak of idealistic melodrama and lighthearted fun among the blogs of Ces, Maan, Rita, Pia, Arlene and mine. An additional note on Maan's blog: rather than brushing it off as one of those blogs with nothing but lyrics, consider first that we share the same taste in music, and her personal sharing provides dramatic context to the songs.

Finally we have the awesome blogs--in Tagalog "astig", in Bicol "ma-orag." Kate is a friend from back in high school. She rarely posts, but if she does it's heartfelt and profound. Marlon a.k.a. Mr. Pencil is a recent discovery. Following the footsteps of Jonell, it's unbelievable how he deftly uses the metaphor of the pencil in all his posts so far.

There you have it. With them, my blogging experience is made more worthwhile, so from this one-year Highway Drifter, a big thank you.