Fundamental to neoliberal thinking, explains educational philosopher Michael Peters, are the following: the self-interested individual or the ‘rational optimiser’; free market economics; a commitment to laissez faire, as shown by its distrust towards government intervention and control; and the espousal of free trade and of open economies as well as the rejection of what is rendered as protectionist policies by the state (2011, 44). What distinguishes it from its older relative (“classical…

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(Or what the Universe can learn from her this early)

 

That beauty queens are role models is a cliché but worth enacting.  Shamcey, in her post-coronation interview with showbiz columnist Ricky Lo (together with two other winners—Dianne and Isabella), says so. 

 

Beauty queens, being women that hog the limelight, necessarily turn out to be role models—their pictures are splattered in front pages or centerfolds of broadsheets and tabloids, they snatch the…

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(Pardon the word vomit) 

It’s half past 4 am and I am still awake. A few hours earlier, I was still wondering if I’d have the time to even make the necessary punctuation mark to a splendid 2010 before I move into what I surmise would be a very promising year for Philippine beauty pageantlandia. And here I am typing down what I intend to be my final post before I embrace the new year.







This farewell post pays homage—for the nth time—to arguably the best…

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Of course, I have not thrown pageants into oblivion while I busy myself completing my thesis draft. There is no better way to show this than by conflating two disparate domains in this piece of writing (I almost said, piece of sh_t). In this crudely written note, I wish to metaphorize thesis writing as a beauty pageant.



It’s not actually difficult to comprehend the act of writing a dissertation through the act of strutting on stage to get that one coveted crown. The schematic… Continue