Jack The Scribbler

Enzenberger’s 10 most popular, if mythical explanations for the coin shortage that took place in Italy from 1975 to 1979

Robert JA Basilio Jr. — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:41:55 +0000

The shortage of coins in Italy forced residents and tourists alike to use caramel candy and chewing gum to pay for small items such as stamps and coffee. The coin shortage also prompted an Italian company to develop the world's first prepaid phone card in 1976, a year after the shortage was reportedly solved. Better late than never.

Bryson on his grandmother’s crank telephone

Robert JA Basilio Jr. — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:19:08 +0000

“It all seems long ago now. And it was. It was so long ago, in fact, that my grandparents had a crank telephone, the kind that hung on the wall and had a handle you turned and said: ‘Mabel, get me Gladys Scribbage. I want to ask her how she makes her ‘Frosted Flakes ‘n’ [...]

From Facebook to a real book

Robert JA Basilio Jr. — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 10:27:05 +0000

“We only have a limited time on earth," he said at the Sining Kamalig art gallery in Gateway Mall in Quezon City, surrounded by a few reporters. “Why waste all that time on Facebook?"

Last stand at the grandstand

Robert JA Basilio Jr. — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 14:29:08 +0000

Let’s all spare ourselves the fancy analysis. Rolando Mendoza, a former police officer, decided to arm himself and take a busload of tourists as hostages. Why? He claimed to have been a victim of injustice and he wanted that corrected.

Is President Benigno Aquino III Southeast Asia’s George W. Bush?

Robert JA Basilio Jr. — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:49:44 +0000

Is President Benigno Aquino III Southeast Asia’s George W. Bush? Far from it. Although Dubya was caught unaware when a plane crashed into the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, it took him just a few minutes to compose himself. Not so with this other presidential son.

Vonnegut on nature’s stern but reasonable surrender terms

Robert JA Basilio Jr. — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 11:13:33 +0000

Teach your kids, and yourselves, too, while you're at it, how to inhabit a small planet without helping to kill it.

Three reasons why Mark Frauenfelder’s Rule The Web rules (or at least for me)

Robert JA Basilio Jr. — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 07:23:57 +0000

Do yourself a favor -- quit updating your Facebook status, stop posting vague and indulgent messages on Twitter, and lay off surfing for the latest celebrity nip slip pics or similar adult-oriented material.

How Meralco got its Twitter name back

Robert JA Basilio Jr. — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 02:13:45 +0000

Two famous typhoons of 2009 -- Ondoy and Pepeng -- forced the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) to use Twitter. Problem was, the Twitter handle @meralco, was already taken.

Angsty nineties in the University of the Philippines

Robert JA Basilio Jr. — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 13:35:27 +0000

Having encountered Albert Camus or Soren Kierkegaard in a Philosophy or Literature class, or either through a stolen book from the Main Library, the Iskolar ng Bayan looked vainly for meaning amid senselessness, stability amid chaos, truth amid deception.

O’Rourke on reading about economics

Robert JA Basilio Jr. — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 12:16:39 +0000

Reading about economics after watching a lot of economic activity is like reading the assembly instructions after the Christmas toy has been put together.