last beautiful girl

18 June 2009 @ 03:19 pm

i realize now i do not fear death... i fear my daughter will not be free when i die

- From the Twitter of an Iranian medical student

"If it bothers you so much, then why don't you stop watching?" seems to be the question of the last few days from my friends and family who know how invested I have become in the cause of the Iranian people (as I have explained in great detail here) The answer is simple: one day of caring is not enough. We must be the voice for the people of Iran who would otherwise be silenced. They are without reliable news sources, they are without mobile phone calls, text messaging, facebook, twitter, youtube, AIM, Yahoo, Google, and pretty much every other useful outlet for information you can think of. Yet they persist on the streets and on the internet in any way they can. The least we can do, whether we are across continents, oceans, or time zones, is spread their words safely.

My death is irrelevant.Wht is important is that u do not forget my words.We want freedom.i will die 4that

- From the Twitter of a protester in Tehran

Right now, brave men and women in Iran, both young and old, are sacrificing their lives for their voices to be heard. They must fear not only the police, but also the Basij -a force of men loyal to the government who plant themselves among crowds in plain clothes in order to discretely attack protesters and incite chaos.The protesters are peaceful. They mass together in crowds that are reported to grow in size every day. At night they have very few, if any, safe places to stay. Houses with satelite dishes were attacked by the Basij tonight, and during the 50 minutes of Twitter's maintenance, another university was attacked.

140 characters is a novel when you're being shot at.

- From another Iranian Twitter

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP?

The most obvious thing to do is stay informed. Keep an eye on reliable sources on Twitter, refresh blogs and news sites that are covering the stories.

If you are on twitter, retweet information from reliable twitters, but REMOVE THE USERNAME if they are in Iran. People have died because of the lack of responsibility by fellow tweeters and the media in this front. They can be tracked down by the government of Iran.

Spread the information elsewhere. Repost this article or write your own on Facebook, Myspace, Tumblr, or anywhere else you can think of. If you write your own, make sure you are concise and accurate. Link to your sources for people to learn more.

Discretely change your location on Twitter to Tehran or Iran, and your time zone to GMT +3:30. Don't post to brag about how you did it, otherwise it was useless.

DO NOT auto-refresh and take down websites, even if you are asked. It slows down the internet for the rest of the people in Iran.

If you make a proxy DO NOT post it publically, otherwise it is useless. Send it in a direct message to a trusted source.

DO NOT spam the hash tag #IranElection with useless things to "confuse the government". This does not help at all.

USEFUL SITES TO FURTHER HELP

Cyber War Guide for Iran Elections

Green Revolution - How to Help

Anonymous - Why We Protest - Iran

STAY INFORMED!

Follow on Twitter: @ProtesterHelp and @StopAhmadi

(REMINDER: DO NOT REPOST PERSONAL TWITTERS OF THOSE INSIDE THE COUNTRY, EVEN IF THEY ARE RELIABLE!)

Chronology of events

Live-blogging by Andrew Sullivan

General information from a poser on Fark.com

Live-blogging on HuffingtonPost

دنیارابگوییدچطورآنهاانتخاباتمان دزدیده اند
Tell the world how they have stolen our election

- original article by one_hoopy_frood on LJ

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20 May 2009 @ 05:23 pm

more on the book blockade

So, long story short,

1) Books are import tax-free in the Philippines. Period. Forever. Doesn't matter if you get them via air, sea, or land, but you do not pay taxes for them. Why? Because this country signed a treaty called The Florence Agreement that states "Under the Agreement, books, newspapers, periodicals and many other categories of printed matter are granted duty-free entry. Printed music, maps and even tourist posters are similarly exempt. All the items of this annex to the Agreement, except architectural plans and designs, enjoy exemption from customs duties regardless of destination. Books are the most important category. The exemption granted to books is not subject to any qualifications as to their educational, scientific and cultural character."

2) Some geniuses at the Department of Finance are looking for a quick way to make a buck so they imposed a 1%/5% tax on any books that come into the Philippines through any means possible. Then when the treaty in question was presented to them, they created a set of *air quotes* "guidelines" */air quotes* that will help Customs officials discern whether a book is "educational" or "non educational".

→ Not to mention this incident, as reported by Robin Hemley:

Customs Undersecretary Espele Sales explained the government's position to a group of frustrated booksellers and importers in an Orwellian PowerPoint presentation, at which she reinterpreted the Florence Agreement as well as Philippine law RA 8047, providing for "the tax and duty-free importation of books or raw materials to be used in book publishing." For lack of a comma after the word "books," the undersecretary argued that only books "used in book publishing" (her underlining) were tax-exempt.

“For 50 years, everyone has misinterpreted the treaty and now you alone have interpreted it correctly?” she was asked.

“Yes,” she told the stunned booksellers.

Sarap pag-uuntugin, di ba? The genius minds of my country, ladies, and, well, more ladies. A flash of inspiration from their legal department that is more akin to imagination bordering on delusion.

A mega comprehensive timeline of events compiled by Manuel Quezon III, of events leading up to what is now known as the "Great Philippine Book Blockade of 2009". An awesome read and excellently researched, I particularly keep going back just to read this brilliant, humorous analysis of the Department of Finance's FAQ and legalese whatnot from Bahay Talinhaga. What I loved:

The DOF guidelines contain a lot of legal definitions so as to allow Customs to distinguish between books in general, educational books, historical books, cultural books, book publishing etc.

With all due respect: none of that matters.

No. Import. Duties. On. Books.

Once more, with feeling:

* Under the Florence Agreement, a binding international treaty which the Philippines has already ratified, any book–whether textbook or bodice-ripper-romace–that isn’t an advertisement should be exempt from customs duties, whatever its content;
* Under Article 46 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, except in extreme circumstances a State party to a treaty cannot use its municipal/national laws to justify failure to comply with a treaty;
* Applying a customs duty on the importation of books contravenes the Florence Agreement;
* No law or interpretation of the law, whether the TCCP or RA 8047 or what-have-you, can justify duties on the importation of books.

So, again, in the humble opinion of one who knows the basics of international law: these guidelines are legally infirm; and as municipal law cannot overturn treaties, much less can municipal “guidelines” have any effect.

In your face.

Please, please, please, flist, Filipinos or no, if you love books at all, SIGN THE PETITION. This shit is bananas. Thankfully, some senators also think this shit is bananas and are now investigating the case. Other measures being taken include a letter to the president by Rep. Teddy Locsin and various other internet organisation methods (A Facebook cause, apparently? I don't have one of those, but please join it if you have one.) Tell your friends. Tell the TV networks.

Hell, if you won't do it for me, do it for NEIL GAIMAN.

When all else fails, I say litigate the motherfuckers. LEAVE THE BOOKS IN PEACE.

(This post has been left public. Link at will.)

Current Mood:

angry

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19 May 2009 @ 10:10 pm

dismantle an atomic bomb

I would have more words, but right now all I've got is lsjdghslkdghdlgjfsdhlgk.

Only in the Pilipins can you find government officials putting taxes on books (which is against the law and violating an international treaty because books are educational material) in order to fuel their own greed. The entire thing is atrocious and an utter outrage. If this goes on, novels from foreign countries will never find their way into our bookstores because the taxation rate is too high. This makes me a) sick and b) want to kill someone. Specifically that motherfucking Undersecretary of whatthefuckingever who imposed these taxes. Books, for crying out loud! It's like the government wants to worsen the literacy problem! ksjdfghsdkgd.

Please sign the petition fighting this stupid book blockade here, you guys.

(And I've got to say? I am damn proud of the woman who wrote it. Yes, even when I haven't spoken to her in a year. I called her my sister once. Good on you, Maia-oneesama.)

Current Mood:

bitchy

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14 June 2008 @ 05:34 pm

that's funny--

I thought the last one was REALLY going to be the last one, and yet apparently not?

Time for an update.

Kids, kids, kids.

THIS JOURNAL IS FRIENDS-ONLY.
Completely. Friends only.

Meaning, if you add me and not tell me? You get a big hunk'a nothin'. This is a sticky post! Use it. If you're new, tell me about yourself. I want to be able to put a face to a name. Or something. But first, an introduction:

I am ~~the artist formerly known as Ekai~~ Erika. I'm 24 and a nursing graduate. This journal is locked for a very simple reason: a few years ago a psycho harassed me on here, and I'd rather not it happen again.

I like Sawajiri Erika. I like her more with Nishikido Ryo. I talk about Japanese drama, real life drama, the process of writing, cute Asian boys of mostly Japanese descent, music, movies, food, and fandom. I'm fairly harmless, or so they tell me. I created

heat_up_je, the first JE het fanwork community on LJ, with my best friend. This is perhaps the cause of my internet infamy.

If you're here for the writing, let me reroute you to

honeymilk_tea.

I make graphics and icons on the fly. All of that is on

code_fantasy.

A final warning: If you don't like Sawajiri Erika, you probably won't like me. Which is okay, I probably won't like you either. D:

Tags: ;public, what are you doing here?

Current Mood:

cheerful

Current Music: Labels or Love - Fergie

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24 February 2008 @ 06:55 pm

icons~

15 Narumi Riko
20 Sawajiri Erika
1 Sato Megumi

( such a lot of world to see )

Tags: erika sawajiri, icons, megumi sato, riko narumi

Current Music: Moon River - Westlife

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21 November 2006 @ 11:53 pm

my last public entry

FRIENDS ONLY.

I can't believe I didn't listen to Sa-'nee before. >_< It really does save me from a lot of aggravation.

banner by

mymedecine

As of 03-27-2008:

Hi. I'm Ekai. This is my blog, and it is friends-locked, because two years ago someone psychotic harassed me on here, and it was incredibly frustrating. I find f-lock extremely convenient.

Despite the f-lock, though, I'm extremely friendly, so just leave a comment to be added. I would like to know why I'm being added, though-- how you found my journal, all that nice jazz. (All comments are screened: do not panic.)

This LJ is filled with random thoughts on fandom, flailing over Sawajiri Erika, and the occasional Really Deep Entry.

If you don't like Sawajiri Erika, you probably won't like me. Which is okay, I probably won't like you either. D:

Tags: ;public

Current Mood:

accomplished

Current Music: Tokyo Days - Ito Yuna

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03 November 2006 @ 12:52 pm

having fun

RP = fun XD XD

I still maintain that

_defyingtheodds was sending me subliminal messages about this RP thing XD

It's fun XD

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31 October 2006 @ 10:18 am

trouble trouble trouble

...

I have to bring a parent/guardian in on Thursday so I can enroll.

Probation status, you see. 79 for prelims. 70 for midterms. 75 for finals. In my book, that's cutting it REALLY close. >_< Shimatta.

The LCD screen of my Sony Ericsson mobile exploded. Half the screen is blacked out now, and I apparently need PhP 2000 to have it fixed. It functions normally otherwise, but it's quite depressing. :( I've to save a lot and fast if I want this fixed ASAP, because the situation worsens every hour-- the black spot grows larger and larger everytime I check it. Itaii.

Current Mood:

complacent

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30 October 2006 @ 05:25 am

Yuki-gasm~

...

I want something, very badly, right now.

A picture/screencap of Nagato Yuki in PWN mode-- that is, when she's in the process of obliterating the Computer Society (yes, THAT episode), the one where you can see her face clearly behind the transparent screen that's screaming "LOCKED" in red letters at her. That image? I want it. THIS MEANS YOU,

juni-oniichan!

O~ne~ga~i~~~ I wanna make an icon out of it. It's probably been made into one, but I'm too lazy to look ahaha~

For now I borrow Oniichan's icon. XDDDD

Current Mood:

creative

Current Music: God Knows - Hirano Aya as Suzumiya Haruhi

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29 October 2006 @ 11:22 am

... i view men as on the same level as potatoes~

...

charliedoggie-- who are you and what have you done with my oniichan?!

Because my oniichan wouldn't give me a crack-anime that's not even in chronological order! Kui wouldn't break my brain that way!

... Not, of course, that I didn't enjoy the breaking. XDDD The anime title in question was The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi. Which, I know, generated quite a lot of hype a few months ago when it first aired. Daddy Lance tried explaining this to me over YM a couple months back. And even then when I had the wiki open and he kept bombarding me with YouTube links, I still didn't get it. Then I asked

juni-'niichan about this and I think we talked about it a bit but I've forgotten? Probably because I didn't understand anything?

And now I know why. This anime is crack beyond mere words. It's as Nagato Yuki says. I can explain it, but you wouldn't understand. That said, YOU ALL HAVE TO SEE THIS ANIME.

Suzumiya Haruhi is a young girl who-- okay, that won't work. Too many spoilers. Okay, I'll try again. The hero is a guy known only as Kyon-- and he is definitely, certainly, without-a-doubt, 100% human. Everyone else in this anime, apparently, is NOT. xDDDDD

I can't say much else! The cracktastic level of this anime is absurd! It's criminal! It's effing brilliant, though, that much I assure you. That said, watchitwatchitWATCHIT!

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27 October 2006 @ 09:29 am

damage report

Well, not so much damaged. Passed NCM 104 by the edge of my teeth and am on probationary status-- gotta grab a grade of 83 for prelims else it's bye-bye nursing.

I am happy about this because, well, with the shit I pulled this sem it's kind of a minor miracle that I scraped by enough to get out alive.

I am unhappy about this because my mom will -- oh, my mom. She will have a conniption fit about this that will last hours. Last forever. Something.

I'm not even sure if I like this course anymore, but what the hell.

No idea about the minors. >_< Ohman, that's a problem, too. More problems: Hepa-B vaccine, Transcript of Records in MDC.

A girl's gotta fight, right?

Current Mood:

listless

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27 October 2006 @ 03:33 am

nervious breakdown

... Grabbing classcards in a few. Should I panic? Maybe I should panic. Last year I got punted off of MDC because I was too cocky. I wasn't in the seasonal hotlists, but maybe I should start being worried. I dunno.

~

Wrote a little for that Sentaro/Skuld fic. Rereading it now, I think it sucks, but them's the breaks. I'm out of practice. I'm gonna buy myself a new mechanical pencil-- that always makes me write well.

And how about you guys? What are your traditional writing habits? I.e; writing in unlined notebook paper, or in a certain ink color, or a certain pen brand? Is there music involved? Inquiring minds want to know.

~

It's a nice cloudy day. I like cloudy days-- because I can walk out and not be fried to a crisp by the sun.

Classcard results in a little while XDD

Current Mood:

curious

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26 October 2006 @ 12:32 pm

aaaaaaaaa~

Oh! my Goddess! Kawanishi Sentaro has appeared on THREE episodes of the new Aa! Megami-sama anime~~~ And they've animated the Childhood's End arc~~~~ AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA~~~

And his seiyuu is Paku Romi. *diez*

There has to be someplace where I can get this anime?

Ah! LOTUS.

~~

All this puts me in the mood for a new fic I've been toying with for the past couple of years (yes YEARS). I even had illustrations for this that Urd-'neechan had helped me with. We'll see if I can still do longhand fic writing. XD

~~

Also,

_defyingtheodds and I hereby introduce "Chocolate Chip" -- a fake dorama we came up with while listening to Miyavi music. XDDDD It's about the coming-of-age of a young boy in modern Tokyo. Sounds innocent? Think again--

(We should've done this in time for

falsificatio~)

( Chippu FTW! )

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21 October 2006 @ 06:17 pm

wow

Seriously, WOW.

So I bought the RENT DVD and was subsequently BLOWN. AWAY. That film-- of course I've yet to see the actual musical, but THAT FILM.

*fangirl squee*

I loved the film! I watched it not knowing what to expect. The only song I'd heard from it was "Seasons of Love", which an oniichan had sent to me over DCC a long time ago. The plot, the setting, the characters, the music-- God, that music. It all threw me. It was beautiful. You guys should see this movie. I don't even know how to put my love for it into words.

New crush: Anthony Rapp. He plays Mark Cohen in the RENT movie, and also on Broadway. He's a cutie, and I could never resist men in glasses.

There's a hot tip for all the guys out there who wanna get with me. WEAR GLASSES. I am very serious. XDDDDD

Your lips are like morphine... and I want some of it now--

Current Mood:

giddy

Current Music: Give It Up To Me - Sean Paul feat. Keshia Cole

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21 October 2006 @ 05:22 am

the funniest thing EVAR

So this is for all the Orlando Bloom crazy!fangirls who write in forums and CAPSLOCK OF RAGE and tons of exclamation points--

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujlG4U4xVu0

ORLI IS WATCHING XDDDD

from

anime_babble, so's you know I don't look for these things meself XPPPPP

Current Mood:

silly

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21 October 2006 @ 02:44 am

truly curious

Gotta make this quick since I've a (walang-kwentang) English exam in fifteen minutes. Rizal exam was hard on my hands~ I'm not used to writing longhand anymore, I just type fic up. Anyway, six topics, all essays-- I think I did okay, considering that the only "studying" I did was asking Zara what she'd reviewed. XD

So, English exam. Last one and it's officially sembreak! I haven't eaten breakfast yet, but I'm not really that hungry. I just had some strawberry C2 (I love this! And the Forest Fruits variant, too). I'll eat when I get home, and maybe grab the Rent DVD today.

My cellphone's busted. Damn joystick won't work anymore, so it's really hard scrolling down for messages and stuff. ¬_¬ Touya says we just have to wait a couple more months and then we can both get new mobile phones from our Dad when we go to Malaysia. I'm itching for a W800i~ Or maybe a really cute hot pink Moto RAZR? So my bro and I match. XD

Eeek~ BBL XD Last exam, here I come!

Current Mood:

rushed

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20 October 2006 @ 03:34 pm

(no subject)

It was time for a new layout, so :P Thanks to

aucune_gloire from LJLayouts.org-- they've the best stuff, and are really easy to load. XD

Current Mood:

accomplished

Current Music: Rosie Thomas - Since You've Been Around

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20 October 2006 @ 03:17 am

(no subject)

When I see the sun shining brightly outside it makes me wish I didn't have to pick my brother up from the hospital where an aunt is dropping him off, but them's the breaks, right?

*picks up a pair of shades*

... Sometimes that kid gets really annoying, though. He says he needs to be picked up because he apparently bought a lot of stuff in the three days he spent at my aunt's. He's also five foot nine and is stronger than I am, so why do you think I'm thinking that he's just being a big baby about this? Oh pshaw. >_< < / end whining >

Watched "The Butterfly Effect 2" and "The Devil Wears Prada" last night. I must say I like Erica Durance as Lois Lane, so the whole not-being-Lois-Lane kind of affected my view on the entire movie. That said, it wasn't even a really good movie. The original was tons better.

As for "The Devil..." -- well. I liked it. The clothes were divine, and Meryl Streep FTW~. The soundtrack was really good, too. Anne Hathaway went from drab to fab, but it's not like bushy hair and stupid clothes will make her any less fab than she actually is. It's a fun movie, I'm glad I saw it.

Also on the DVD was a trailer for the "Rent" movie. Now THAT I've got to get. Seriously. If the trailer is any indication, then it should be an awesome film. Gah~ *digs through the mall*

Note to

_defyingtheodds: The NANA movie doesn't exist in Lotus T_T (I really wanna see the NANA movie.)

Current Mood:

busy

Current Music: Seasons of Love - RENT cast

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19 October 2006 @ 03:50 am

music, music

:P Nakakarami na si Mel, o. Here's Evanescence with their new single, from the album "The Open Door" : Call Me When You're Sober

(Tip: Find the video on YouTube and watch it watchitnow! I didn't much like Evanescence before, but that video~ XD)

Sendspace link

Current Mood:

awake

Current Music: Save Room - John Legend

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18 October 2006 @ 04:54 pm

(no subject)

YAY FINALS ARE OVER~ YAY SEMBREAK NA~

~

They call THAT a comprehensive exam? I could've answered that when I was still in 102~ (Yabang ko lelz)

~

Spending too much time making icons. And watching NANA clips on YouTube. T_T I really wanna see the movie. I have a crush on Yuna Ito. XD

Current Mood:

cheerful

Current Music: Faith - Yuna Ito

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