Are your photos stolen?

My friend, Pasion, is ranting furiously soon as she found out that one of her blog photos is being used by another site without her permission, nor citing the source. Well, who wouldn't be mad at this? I would feel the same, had it happened to me.

Ah, I hope it wouldn't happen to me, or to you. I know I haven't posted so much photos here (and are not so good, for I am not a pro at taking photos), but I am not discounting the possibility that my work may be stolen by others. This makes me re-think of my creative commons license, which is by the way, sitting permanently down at my sidebar since I started this blog, should you not notice it.

Just to over-emphasize it, all images in this blog (or the entire blog itself) are protected by a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License. This simply means:

Attribution. You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor.
Noncommercial. You may not use this work for commercial purposes.
No Derivative Works. You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.

I, too, have used images from other sources and surely, they have been cited properly. So, I hope others would do the same. It's alright to share and use other's work so long as you give credit where it is due.

The colors of autumn

I was almost getting desperate and frustrated that it's already December and most leaves have fallen rendering the tree dead-like, yet I haven't even seen the wonderful colors of autumn leaves!

Well, that was only almost. Before all leaves get to fall, I got MY chance to see and experience the vast colors of autumn -- where else but in our favorite koen, Shinjuku Gyoen National Park! (We visit this park once a month, I guess)

This is my first autumn in Japan, and firsts have to be good and beautiful. It is, indeed! ;)

More photos below:

Blaming the typhoon

Was it really because of "Seniang" (International Name: Utor) that President Arroyo cancelled the twin summits in Cebu at the last minute? Or were there other reasons -- valid and realistic reasons?

Just can't help to side with the speculations that our dear madame president was actually SCARED -- not of the typhoon -- but of the rumored terrorist attacks as well as the street protests, which are believed to be more prepared than the summit itself.

I heard that even the venue -- a supposedly landmark facility in Cebu -- was still in its finishing touches up to the time of the postponed summit. So, just imagine that foreign and local delegations alike swarming the Cebu International Convention Center while workers are equally busy decorating and painting the walls? ONLY IN THE PHILIPPINES!

The typhoon has passed and did not even leave any single damage in the central Cebu region. (It's not that I want damages, though.) What now?

So what Mrs. Arroyo gets is another heavy dose of criticisms for having a weak government, at the height of her efforts at rebuilding or patching up her ill-reputed administration.

Maybe next time, when big events such as these summits are planned, Mrs. Arroyo should work closely with the meteorogical agency to keep herself updated on where and when an upcoming typhoon will likely hit hard. :-/

Hooey!

There's no point thinking
About the things that should have been in place
About the situations that should have happened
About your life that should have been...what?

There's no point living in a dream
For it will only break your heart
Each time you come back to your own self
To your real world full of wishes.

There's no point wishing
Because it will never come true
You wish and then you wait, and wait
But frustration is only what you get in the end.

There's no point arguing
That some things can be changed
Because they have grown so much roots
So deep and strong that no one or nothing could displace
Not even your faith, perhaps.

There's no point writing this piece
And going all the way to completing it
Because this is just pure nonsense
Gibberish, if I may call it.

And there's no point asking me
Why on earth have I thought of posting it here
Because there's no point answering such queries
For I might just utter out-of-this-world things.

Ahh, what a pointless piece of crap!
Sorry for your time
Hope you come back again
I promise to give you something worth your click! ;)