A couple of tech world hotties

I keep up somewhat with the consumer electronics and tech industry (like many guys who are into computers and gadgets) and I came across this recent list of the 100 most influential people in the tech world. This list was compiled by the T3 website/magazine in the UK. They admit that the list is slanted towards the United Kingdom and consumer electronics, but the list contains a wide representation of people. It was no surprise that Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page occupied the top spot and the top positions were dominated by the founders or CEOs of Google, Microsoft, Apple, Twitter, Facebook, LG, Sony, Intel and Samsung. A mild surprise was U.S. President Barack Obama at #18, but I guess it’s because of his heavy use of the Web and the Internet during his campaign and in his administration. Musician Trent Reznor even made the list at #59!

The list diplays photos of these people so being the PLU guy that I am, I scoped out who was cute or hot. Below are the two hottest guys on the list in my opinion. The guy to the left is Mashable blog founder Pete Cashmore at #71 and the other one is Apple Senior VP of Industrial Design Jonathan Ive at #52.

Pete Cashmore looks more like a GQ model than a tech blogger. He has this really nice unshaven look on his strong square jaw as you can see from pictures of him on the web. This Scotsman just turned 24 last Friday. Jonathan Ive, on the other hand, is this nice big, hunky, buzz cut dude that gave us the iconic designs of the Mac, iPod, and iPhone. See more pictures of him online. Hmmm... they actually look similar to each other. Hehehe.

Among the Asians in the list, I think ASUS designer Aken Ko at #87 is the hottest, while the following seem to be handsome as well: #91 Josh Silverman of Skype and #57 Kevin Rose of Digg.

Agree, disagree?

A look at the UN declaration on sexual orientation and gender identity

For another dose of current affairs and issues, I turn you now to the world map above. The countries in green are those that have backed a 2008 declaration on sexual orientation and gender identity that was proposed to the General Assembly of the United Nations. The countries in red, on the other hand, are those that oppose the said declaration and have backed a contrary statement (along the lines of religious freedom). (See this NYT article for more info.) The proposed declaration, according to Wikipedia:

includes a condemnation of violence, harassment, discrimination, exclusion, stigmatization, and prejudice based on sexual orientation and gender identity. It also includes condemnation of killings and executions, torture, arbitrary arrest, and deprivation of economic, social, and cultural rights on those grounds.

It’s quite obvious from the map that most of the Western world (including the whole of the European Union) have backed the statement while almost all Islamic countries don’t. Among the opponents (but not a signatory to either statement) is the Vatican’s Holy See, which is a UN observer. One surprise, given the Islam-sponsored backing of the opposing statement, is Albania, a European Muslim-majority country, which backs the first declaration. The United States, under George W. Bush, originally refused to sign the declaration but under Obama became a signatory.

Closer to home, we see that the Philippines is quite neutral on the declaration (or apathetic). Quite curiouser is the fact that East Timor signed the declaration despite being a predominantly-Catholic country. (Yes, the Philippines is no longer the only predominantly Catholic nation in Asia when East Timor gained its independence from Indonesia in 2002.)

This declaration is easily the most important worldwide issue directly affecting the PLU community and breaks a longstanding taboo regarding discussing homosexuality at the United Nations. The main aim is to extend the values enshrined in the UN Declaration of Human Rights to include sexual orientation and gender identity, and one of its first goals is to seek the decriminalization of homosexuality worldwide. French state secretary for human rights Rama Yade said at the UN, “How can we tolerate the fact that people are stoned, hanged, decapitated and tortured only because of their sexual orientation?” But this declaration will be a hard sell especially in countries having a state religion that forbids homosexuality.

While many people deplore the fact that gays can’t legally marry their partners almost everywhere, let’s not forget the fact that there are areas in this world where people are executed just for being gay. So this UN declaration deserves our support.

What would you tell your 18-year-old self?

Reader RD recently sent me an email asking for advice to give to barely-legal people like him:

Subject: hey there :D

First of all, I’d like to thank you for putting this little piece of cyberspace awesomeness up. Obviously, just from the “:D” smiley, you could already tell I’m not exactly that mature yet. lol. 18 to be exact. I’m an avid [yet discerning] reader (’di pa ’ko super legal hehehe) anyway, I suddenly thought of something I’d actually want to hear from you: advice for the new-bloods like me. If you want pa nga something more dramatic, what would you tell your 18 year-old self? :D I know that teens aren’t exactly your target audience, but whatever. lol. pretty please?

can’t wait ’till your next posts,
-Romeo Delta

Dear RD,

Thanks for the compliment and for supporting this site! I must say that it is tough to find a suitable general advice to give to young people like you. I guess it’s much easier to give advice if there’s a specific problem to be tackled, right? Another problem I see is that I observe that gay/bi guys are starting to come to grips with their sexuality and exploring around at a much younger age. (I guess the growing acceptance of homosexuality—nagiging uso daw—has something to do with it.) So trying to put myself in the shoes of people like you might be difficult.

Anyway, I think your idea of what I would tell my 18-year-old self is very good, so let’s do it!

I don’t really have any regrets and I consider the mistakes I made to be lessons learned. But I would definitely advise my 18-year-old self that he’ll be facing life-changing experiences in the coming years. I’d advise him to take things one at a time (especially when it comes to exploring the PLU world). The thrill of meeting new guys and the excitement of getting laid is quite natural at this young age and it’s very easy to get carried away.

I’d tell him that there’s nothing wrong with exploring but to always remember to keep one’s head and to always be careful. Finally, I’ll tell him to find good friends—friends who know about his situation since he’s in the closet. The friend can be one of the guys he meets or a close existing friend that he can open up to. Having someone to pour out one’s heart to, especially in PLU matters, is one good way of relieving emotional stress.

RD, I know it may not be much but I hope that this helps. If this isn’t what you’re looking for, you know what to do.

Sincerely,
Vince

P.S. I don’t think using “:D” smileys speaks of an “immature” mind. But I do definitely think that using txtspk wen ur nt txting is appalling.

How about you guys: what would you tell your 18-year-old self?

Discreetionary: ISO

ISO · abbreviation. in search of.

ISO was one of those terms that I encountered when I poked around the gay personals websites (i.e., the “old” social networking sites) back in the 90’s. It took me quite a long time to learn that it meant “in search of.” I wasn’t about to ask around lest people think that I was a newbie, and Google was non-existent back then. This term is usually followed by other acronyms like GWM (gay white male) or GAM (gay Asian male) to signify that the searchee is looking for such.

On hindsight, it appears that ISO, as a term, is not used very much, if at all, by the local PLU community. I barely see it in the chatrooms and even in the modern gay social networking sites like PlanetRomeo. What’s more common is “ASL,” right?

Is drug use really a part of the PLU scene?

One thing that has perplexed me is the way the illegal drugs subculture is seemingly a prominent part of the gay culture. I thought that this was just an American thing but I have to admit that it was only through the local PLU scene that I encountered drug use firsthand. (No, I don’t take drugs and will never do.)

In the local PLU scene, I’m guessing the most abused illegal substance is MDMA, also known as Ecstasy or colloquially as E. Abuse of this substance is inextricably tied to the clubbing culture since the effects of ecstasy is best experienced with good thumping music. (And I must note that this is not exclusive to the PLU crowd.) I have a good friend that I met in BED and he’s the one that exposed me to ecstasy use. It was through him that I learned such terms like “parteee” (taking ecstasy), “journey” (feeling the euphoric effects of the drug), and “good vibes.”

Before it closed down, Club Government was where ecstasy use was most rampant. I witnessed several people “journeying” there for myself and it’s one of the reasons why I disliked going to that place. It’s sort of an open secret that drug use was extensive and even slyly tolerated in Government that I was not surprised when a blog sprung up last year denouncing Club Government, the people who frequent there, and the drug use in that club. I won’t link to that blog anymore since it’s too negative (a la Brian Gorrell vs. DJ Montano), but you can probably find it if you have enough Google skills.

Going away from the clubbing scene, another drug that I’ve seen used is poppers. A guy I had sex with in Club Bath inhaled poppers to enhance the sexual pleasure he felt. I was definitely weirded out that time.

To be fair, I think the vast majority of PLU people do avoid drugs. But you have to admit that it’s hard to avoid the stereotype shown by the American gay culture of rampant drug usage (think Queer as Folk) and wonder how it translates to the local scene. Anyway, I’d like to point you to this really eye-opening blog of a Pinoy PLU who used to do drugs but is now trying to live cleanly, especially after he was diagnosed with HIV.