It's hard to review a month, especially the one that just passed. With Jesse Robredo's untimely demise and the subsequent celebration of his life, the tragedy caused by the floods in Luzon because of the monsoon rains, Tito Sotto's blunder and his refusal to accept responsibility, to the grand debate of whether or not OPM is dead or alive, and many more—indeed, August 2012 was a tough month to swallow.
As Filipinos, what do we do then, to be able to proceed to the “-ber” months with a little bit of hope? How do we shake off the dust of tragedy, disappointments, acts of plagiarism, and exchanged opinions that have highlighted a growing division among Filipinos today? As for me, as well as the Rice Radio and the Pinoytuner team, we'll do it in a very Filipino way: we'll celebrate anyway. That's why this month, we focus our attention to art, festivals, music, and social movements.
We want to shine a light on the beauty of the Philippines and the many things we Pinoys do to keep our heads up. General Santos City will be celebrating its annual Tuna Festival, which is something to look forward to. Also, a small island paradise in Visayas called Siquijor will celebrate the Solili Festival on September 18, 2012. Watch out for our features on these two events and we might even convince you to get out of the metro and see the wonders of the south for yourself!
As Pinoys, art has always been in our blood. But hardly do we read anything about the artists behind the canvasses. This month, we're gunning to get into the creative minds of some of the most influential artists and photographers in the metro, so look out for our I Heart Art features this month!
In light of the accusations of OPM being dead, for this month, we'll be featuring more live gigs that we also intend to upload. Live performances by your favorite indie and mainstream artists will be available on demand for you only on our YouTube channel. We have also updated our Rice Radio playlist (care of music programmer Mike Gemina and myself) as it pushes for a smarter and better brand of Rice Radio for all of you listeners out there.
September is also a big month for geeks all over the Philippines. This month, we'll be airing our very first episode of Geekstrong, which is a live-streamed talk show that celebrates Filipino geekery in all its glory. Also, look for our weekly Geekstrong articles, features, and reviews. We welcome back our Geekstrong brothers Peter Juan, DC Dominguez, and Raph Liloc, who have been working so hard to give you the best possible show ever.
And finally, we shift our attention to the goodness of our fellow countrymen. Currently, we are collecting stories of modern-day heroism in this country that deserve a spotlight. It’s time we showcased something to be proud of, aside from the nonsense we see on television and all the bad news. Maybe it's time to stop looking for mistakes from our figureheads and start acknowledging the greatness of strangers. I'd personally appreciate that paradigm shift, even for just this month.
September is an exciting month for all of us here in Pinoytuner and I hope you feel the same excitement as well. Despite all the crap we have to go through as a country, we go through them in these coming months with a little skip in our steps and say, if I may quote my boss Vin Dancel, “Sarap maging Pinoy, mehn!”
