From 2010 to 2017, there was a thing called #AseanCitizen that we Aseans started as a grassroots movement. We were all bloggers from across, well, #ASEAN or South-East Asia.
Some of us joined together to produce one of the best multi-authored regional blogs. We talked about our cultures, write about what makes the region awesome. As well as, try to address the oftentimes silly and sometimes heated debates.
It's all gone now. Forgotten. The blogs dead or offline. We all grew up, got busy with our personal lives, and moved on separately. And the important reason? We lost interest in it as we started to see ASEAN was, is, and will never be for the grassroots.
That was the end of what was once a vibrant grassroot ASEAN Citizens effort. We did it all voluntarily. Without a single recognition from the top-down organisation that is ASEAN.
But today? ASEAN is still a top-down organisation. They kept trying to get the grassroots involved, but they are always failing. Why? Because it is a top-down organisation, as simple as that. They will never understand until they shift their mindset and approach to bottom-up.
(P.S I want to restart this grassroots movement, but I just no longer have the spark. Give me a very good reason why I should give it another chance. Or, at least, guide the new generation.)
If I'm going to interpret this, the natives of Taiwan survived as the primary people in what we know today as the Philippine archipelago. From the Philippines, they spread everywhere.
In other words, they're all #Filipino! ᜑᜑᜑᜑ 😹 (Or, native Taiwanese to be exact.)
Here are some dating tips, nothing grand, but can be useful.
Know how to say “I love you” in the #Filipino language because we have two for romantic relationships.
“Mahal kita” = This is your “I love you” in English. It can be used romantically or for family and relatives.
mahal = ma (as in “mama”) + hal (as in ha + L) which means “love”
kita = ki (as in ‘ki’ in “kit”) + ta (as in ‘ta’ in “tank”) which means “you”
“Iniibig kita” = This can be translated into English as “I deeply love you” or “I deeply desire you” or both; and should only be used romantically. You could say it is a poetic way of saying “I love you”, however, it is more than that.
iniibig = i-ni-i-big (i = as in the sound of saying the letter “e” = iihh) which means “[deeply] love”
Understand what “mutual understanding” or “m.u.” is.
It's actually simple. “Mutual understanding” is that stage wherein two people are already comfortable with each other, but are still not officially dating. Usually, they do not know they like each other; however, there are those who choose it because they are not sure yet (especially permission from parents).
If the person you like decides to be in an M.U. relationship, don't take it negatively. It is a sign that they are considering dating you, just that, there are still things they need to settle on their end. Give them some time.
You need to clarify your relationship.
Never assume that you are dating. I've seen “couples” who never made it clear and later was shocked the other partner finally have a “boyfriend” or “girlfriend”. The surprised party felt “cheated” but in reality, no one cheated, they were never dating in the first place!
It is important to make your relationship clear.
Are you dating exclusively? “Exclusively”, meaning, there are no one else both parties are dating.
Or, are you in an “open relationship”? An “open relationship” is a relationship wherein you allow each other to have other dates.
Are you actually dating, M.U., or just friends?
Are you “officially” dating? “Officially”, meaning, both of your parents know (regardless if they agreed to it or not).
“PDA” or “Public Display of Affection”
This is publicly holding hands, hugging, kissing (cheeks, lips), being overly sweet with each other.
Filipinos are generally fine with it. If you don't like it, a Filipino date might misinterpret it as you not being proud of them. Thus, if it is not in your culture to show PDA, then make it clear with the Filipino you are dating, to avoid misunderstandings.
There are also some Filipinos who are not into PDA, so, you need to be open about it. And limits.
You are not just dating one person, you are dating the entire family.
Filipinos are family-centric. And when it comes to Filipino, be sure to treat their families well.
This is a good thing. If your partner is telling you what to do, it means they really want to date you.
That's just 5 when it comes to dating. Marriage proposal is a whole different matter. We have our own form “dowry”, although less practised today, it is still good to know, especially if the Filipino you want to marry is traditional. (They may not tell you anything because you're a foreigner, but deep inside they're expecting it.)
This is an excellent film. For an American production, they weren't afraid to depict the "evilness" or extremism of the Western world. It's a nod to the sins of the West during the Colonial era, which unfortunately continues to this very day.
No one country, no one regional power, should be given this much might and sway for it will eventually make them dictators and tyrants disguised as democracy, freedom, and human rights. Exactly what is happening in our world today.
The ones who pay are not the 1% or the politicians or the high ranking military officials. It is the 99% who suffer. They justify their actions as "peace" and "for the future of humanity" when in reality, they only created more reasons for hatred and wars.
Sure, this was about AI. Yes, it is fiction. However, we cannot deny the underlying message of the film. Anyone who denies it is lying to themselves or living in their own fantasy.
Again, a superb film. It is rare to see productions from the West with such a profound message behind it. Western productions are often about entertainment these days, and making tons of money. Not this one. It's all about the message.
First time I pushed myself since I recovered from pneumonia and a water in my left lung (mid to late 2021).
I used the closed roads being used by two race events, #EarthRun and #ASICS run. 😜
I think being with fellow runners made it easier. I didn't feel any pain and I rarely had to catch my breath. Though I was still slow as compared to before I got sick, and had a lot of walks than runs, this was still far better than whenever I ran 5k solo this year.
I went to the community health center because I felt sick. You can receive medical examinations and treatments for free if you are registered with the Social Security Agency on Health; if not, medical examinations and all forms of medicine can be obtained for a single US dollar. Of course, you have to visit the hospital for more complicated illnesses.
We were in "Taman Arkeologi" (Archaeology Park) at our university, which contains replicas of archaeological sites. This is a replica of the Jawi Temple. The original temple was built in the 13th century in Pasuruan, East Java.
So if you two could choose, would you prefer to have the site go back to the T2 name and branding?
I find that curious. If that's so, I'm sure there might be more people on here that feel that way.
Perhaps someone / admin could do an announcement with a poll, and see what the people say. Can't be too much work, literally changing the logo. BUT the instance name might be an issue?
Or is it more about the feeling it had on the other site, and not the name at all?
@Helene@PlasticMonkey@matt43_1 This may be totally wrong, but I read somewhere that "t2" was a sort of encoding of "town square" — T being the first initial, and 2 being read as an exponent, hence "town square[d]". Which I thought was pretty clever
Now, this may be unpopular, but is it true for you that the initial excitement of being on T2 / pebble on Mastodon is wearing off? Maybe it’s time zone thing for me? I love the interactions that I have here but it does seem a little quiet in my time zone for much of the day. And the vibe has changed. Or is that just me? #t2pub@t2pub
She's a jamu seller. Jamu is a traditional Indonesian drink. It is used as a medicinal remedy to treat common ailments and boost the immune system to prevent illnesses.
@stu umm it's okay but not quite the same. and to see everything i have to check this group, the regular mastodon.spcoal feed, the @t2pub feed and the #t2pub feed. it's a lot more work.
@Helene Yes, but the idea that we've managed to band together as a community and not only move, but thrive and support one another on a completely different platform, is something I've never experienced or read of regarding previous social networks.
I am very proud to be here with everyone who decided to migrate and draw together as a community. 😇 :pebble: 😊 🤗
@cbw My #Pebble story is an inverted version of this. A friend on mastodon kindly shared a #t2 invitation in the (relatively) early days. I loved the vibe, but I’ve been on mastodon for a long time & have been quite happy here — so I never spent much time on t2/pebble, and barely interacted at all.
But fast forward! The Pebble -> Mastodon migration is happening, and the community is bringing those marvelous vibes over to mastodon — a good match, I think.
@tyler I have tried so many as well, the mastodon.social one just looked like a great default, but I just now realised that there is a #Pebble community here on Mastodon now with #t2pub / @t2pub / @t2 and this instance you're on. Also looking at how to move my mastodon.social account.