Blurb II

After Nal's foray into the local TV medium, the KLKillahs were granted another opportunity to be nationally televised.

The host of Pesuvom, the talk show series on Vasantham, now on for the 4th season has approached the KLKillahs in attending the recording of their next hot "topic": Blogging. We were asked to provide at least one representative to go at it with the anti-blogging camp [Read: people who just can't come to terms with new technology and should stick to gossiping at coffeeshops]

Set to be a debate against pro-blogging and anti-blogging, if you read us, you'd wanna watch those particular shows. Due to work and school commitments, we may or may not accede to their request.

But if we do, we'd be quite happy, for the KLKillahs would have placed our first footprint into the mainstream media. As for our thoughts on the blogging issue; the obvious need not be stated. It insults intelligence.

So, watch out for Pesuvom, Wednesdays at 8 pm, and nudge the bloke next to you [mooch on some wireless if you have to] and get to the KLKillahs site. No Reelu, Ellam Realu.

pesuvom, vasantham, blog, debate
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Guest Column: Kalpana

Now, it is one of our new initiatives to get a hold of local luminaries and/or members of the media to set about writing us a guest column so to speak. The credibility issues unfold both ways. In our first instalment, Ms. Kalpana, host of "Pesuvom" affirms and rebutts points that have already been thrown up in the air, diced with Ginsu knives and pounded in our "ammi"s. Still, late but not too late.

Vanakkam! This is Kalpana from the Talk Show “Pesuvom” which some of you may have seen on Vasantham Central. First of all, I have to thank the good folks of KLK who have given me the opportunity to be a part of this blog. I have to say that I am quite excited and more nervous, as I am not used to writing for many to witness.

When I was thinking about the 1^st topic to write about, many things came to mind but why not start about the much talked about show where the subject matter was blogging.

I read the reviews written by the members of KLKillahs as well as the reviews that the topic generated.

Here are my thoughts.

Personally blogging is a great channel for many to express their thoughts. It is basically an online magazine that is updated everyday. However, I think we need to know the objective of such a blog or magazine. What are we trying to achieve? To be very honest, I am still lost at what is actually achieved by a blog.

1. The articles about the programmes and the personalities. Some of the panellists who appeared on the programme had mentioned that the comments on blogs must have been encouraging and not demeaning. Fair enough! But the moment we take the stage, we must be ready for criticisms, good or bad. If you cannot take the heat, Stay away from the media.

2. As for the criticism of programmes, yes, they have been harsh too. But I think, we as the Media folks have to take it positively and look forward to giving better programmes. I honestly feel it is time for a change. It is time for the “NO GUTS NO GLORY” kind of attitude to come in and completely turn around the Tamil Programmes of Singapore

3. Expletives. Great writers and great speakers reach out to the common man and woman. They stay away from expletives and I believe so should we. What is the point? What are we trying to achieve? It shows a lack of class and a lot more emotional instability. Yes, you have freedom of expression, but why not use it wisely.

4. People writing about themselves. I think it is a good channel to let out some angst. I do not see any other good in it. It is up to the people of course. It is not all about the other people knowing about lives, but about the perception we give them. Most of the tmr, the thoughts that are encouraged in their heads when they read such blogs is: Do we really need to go there? Of course our reply could be, “why do I care?”. The answer is then ”Why do you write if you do not care?”.

Blogging is cool and it reaches out to many. Why not make it positive? We can follow the examples of the National Enquirer, or the E Channel or other gossip magazines, or we can choose to model the better ones. Why do we do this?

For awareness or is it an outlet for us to express ?

Cheers
Kalpana

Pesuvom Rewound

So, we DID send representatives to attend the recording of Vasantham's Pesuvom yesterday, April 18th. Keling Kween and Praba sat in on one half of the assembled panels to point out that restricting blogs and bloggers is downright nonsense and that everyone has their right to discern credible information and opinions. Everyone that is except the whiners who still insist we must all "not hurt others' feelings". Oh! What a cruel world. Did you also remember not to hurt that poor ant-you-crushed-in-the-kitchen's feelings?

Before it airs on 2nd May at 8 pm, we've the inside scoop as usual. Our KLKillahs will let you know how it went for them in the next post. In this one, we give you a member of the opposing panel:

The show started out with topics such as the importance of tamil speaking and pre-marital sex. The very next debate was on blogging and if it should have its limits. A few of us got the chance to be in this episode, on both sides of the panels. One panel that was up for blogging totally and said that writing whatever they wanted was their own choice. Another panel, not against the idea of blogging but did have the idea that blogging should have its limits; ie we must know where not to cross the line.

Having to meet Miss Kalpana(the host) at 4pm, off to the makeup room where it was the boys who were made up in the end. Pretty sure they enjoyed it! The guests for that debate were the Miss Vasantham Girls; Barathi and Yuvaneswari.

Well there was only one main reason these girls were the guests. They were out to get answers for all the trauma they had been through during the Miss Vasantham period. These girls were all written about in many blogs especially one in which they were made very famous. And yes readers, im sure we are all aware of which blog we're taking abt. None other than the all famous KLK blog. So yes who were they going to get their answers for, the reasons to why they were targeted. We had two representatives from KLK, Aarthi and Praba.

The issue on Miss Vasantham got the debate heated up. The vasantham girls were defending themselves while our klk representatives reasoned out everything they wrote. Everything they spoke was thrown to our klk representatives. Explanations flew from one corner of the panel to the other. The opposition panel threw in questions such as social responsibility and the usage of language, how what one writes affects many others. The key idea was that yes you can write, no one is stopping you in that aspect but yet you should know your limits. There is that line to where it should stop, a border each one should have. Points such as the freedom to write and such were mentioned in which they were then questioned that if one could think twice when he or she speaks, why is it then when it is written it does not become such a case.

Things got heated up at certain parts of the shoot and people were shooting each other off. At the end of the day we know we are not going to take things personally. Well hard to say the same thing for the vasantham ladies who throughout the entire show kept going on and on about how they were so badly affected etc.

Overall the show came to a point where it looked more like the debate was on the vasantham girls. But points were made clear in the end. Blog all you want. Yet the key is to structure your words in such a manner that it is not going to affect a certain party in a certain manner. That was something everyone definitely agreed on. We never know how old our readers are. Examples were given such as the usage of the FUCK word. Western influence has definitely changed our society. Yet there is one thing we had to understand. We are not America. Singapore does not provide that basic infrastructure to write all we want. And maybe the day we are given the key to freedom in what we write, this aspect of blogging may definitely change.

Link



And another one whom we are not too sure if was part of the panel. Still the crux of the matter was on her post:

It would be completely unfair of me to define yesterday as just interesting. An experience that was eye-opening and refreshing. The freedom to write and express. Do we have the space to pen down what we truly feel? If iterating our concerns spurns its consequences on others,then what are the limits to freedom of speech? Is freedom of speech, the liberty given to an individual to mention what they wish to? Or is it the liberty given to one to say what they really feel, but with social and moral responsibility a more apt definition to it?

I believe that the ability to express oneself freely is a necessary option. There's no use having the freedom to speak and act when there is no freedom to think. When we have the freedom to process thoughts, we should also contain the ability to act and speak freely, when it concerns others, but with social responsibility.

In the blogging world, personal concerns and experiences do not provide the platform of vulnerability to others except the blogger themselves. When they are ready to face the repercussions, then why is there a need for others to worry? Too much has been said.

Link

Needless to say, just reading these 2 accounts without physically witnessing the recording has got me a tad incensed.

1. The debate was set out to be on whether blogs/bloggers should be totally restricted or not. Clearly, the bringing in of Miss Vasantham finalists was instead setting the scene for a debate of a totally different nature: "Whether we should have spoken about them or not?". Illogical.

A debate of the intended nature would best have been between bloggers, where the community speaks up on what ARE clearly defined limits and what should be left to interpretation. Even if one of those girls had owned a web log, it would have been a fair platform as on their blogs, their opinion, presumably condemning our opinions would have been stated a long time ago.

2. And this is why the proceedings got more heated up than a normal talk show discussion would have been. The stage was already set for one accusatory group and one defending group. This shouldn't have been the crux of the discussion.

3. "Yet the key is to structure your words in such a manner that it is not going to affect a certain party in a certain manner. That was something everyone definitely agreed on". I take great offence at this statement and am appalled if any of the KLKillahs actually agreed.

This be the reason. Brad Pitt, Aishwarya Rai, Shilpa Shetty and Richard Gere may have scores of fans around the globe but yet their detractors still have a voice. The theory is simple, you have a negative opinion, you state it; and vice versa. We did not go out and pluck a virtual unknown we saw at the wet market to relay our comments on. All our chosen "subjects" have come to us! In the form of nationally televised programs, national newspapers and over-the-Internet sources.

Simply put, if I think something is crap, I will state it. It might affect you, you might agree with me, you might not, it might make you cry or even land you in depression, but it's your call to shrug it off or to whine about it. True? "Structuring" of words smacks of unnecessary self-censorship and do we really need to do better than the Censorship Board we already have in our beautiful nation?

4. Usage of "Fuck". We have yet to proclaim that we are a PG or god forbid NC-16 site. If need be, set your parental controls on your PC so your children need not view a word they already would have had at the tip of their tongues since Primary 3. Ask anyone who's anyone, there's a big and satisfying difference between saying "That was fucking pain man! What the fuck did you do that for!" as opposed to "Ouch, that was pain. Whimper."

5. What infrastructure what? You mean to possess freedom of speech without crossing the lines of defamation we would require infrastructure? What infrastructure pray tell me does not exist in Singapore that does in USA where apparently people speak freely?

If the statement was meant to state that culture is still different here and people must hold back on their opinions, then I say, culture evolves with time and space. If not now, in the age of everything "E-", then when? Please don't include us in the group of folks who believe in mass conspiracy theories like "Oh, the gahmen knows who you voted for because of the serial number on the ballot slips". I think this group should best stay away from the Internet. It's bad for their psychological health.

6. And now the praise. The 2nd excerpt points out exactly what we feel. If bloggers are responsible for their words and bear full repercussions for those words, why worry? And even then, KLKillahs is not an anonymous post-it-up site. We each have our identities, and have never taken steps to hide it. This is of course in stark contrast to the detractors who pop in when their Prozac has worn off to post up anonymous comments. I say restrict those blokes. They're the menace to the blogosphere.

Cheers.

pesuvom, vasantham central, blog, blogging, freedom of speech, restriction
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Blog Like Div

My dear readers,

I was excited that the debate on Pesuvom was going to discuss Blogging. I maintained hope that the debate will actually focus on what I would see as the issues on hand. After watching the show, I was disappointed that the producers missed out on an excellent opportunity for a debate, instead choosing to focus on miniscule issues that don't even merit mention in the larger scheme of things. So much potential, such a loss!

I must add at this juncture, that the participants on both camps were making many attempts to engage the issues of social responsibility and freedom of speech. And in my perception, the moderator of the dialogue failed in her objective in addressing the issues, choosing instead to focus on miniscule and irrelevant things like the use of vulgarity. It became very monotonous after some time, when she began to harp on things like 'but don't you think about how you are going to hurt the other person's feelings?'

She is a good speaker, but this episode seemed to reveal that she had clearly not done her research, and failed to raise some pertinent points that ought to have been raised. I'd like to think that the whole debate was flushed down the big sewer otherwise known 'the PR circus of showbiz'.

Throughout the show, I noticed that there were mixed definitions on the understanding of a blog. As I see it, proclaiming a blog as an online diary is a wrong parameter to work with. If you are making an entry to a blog, there are certain steps you follow. Most importantly when you finish with your entry, you push the 'publish' button. Here we have an obvious indication that the blog in question is a publication, very much like a newspaper column on cyberspace. What you say, you say it in one of the most vast and wide open spaces ever created, to an audience that constitutes anyone in the world with internet access. The term 'diary' indicates that your blog is a private one and for private consumption only.

Another paradigm of blogging that the show tried to address, but failed spectacularly, was the issue of ethical or responsible blogging. I feel that an average blogger often fails to grasp the ethical considerations of posting his or her opinions online.

The argument that a person can choose not to read a blog is immature and limited. It just reveals that the blogger is trying not to take ownership for his or her words and opinions. So when one of the panelists raised this opinion, I was itching to get up there and give her an intellectual slap.

While many might disagree with me on this, I felt that the introduction of the Ms. Vasantham contestants into the panel, as 'victims' of negative comments on blogs was a master stroke which brought home an important point. More often than not, the erstwhile blogger is imbibed with a false sense of isolation and privacy when he types from the relative anonymity of his personal computer. He forgets that there are others who read his blog and people who are impacted by his words. The idea of 'putting a blogger in a tight spot' by making him confront the very people he was making a negative comment about was in theory a good one.

Of course, the producers lost the plot when they kept harping on the issue, not giving the blogger a chance to defend himself and develop his argument about how as a celebrity in the public eye, one must be prepared to deal with all kinds of comments. As the debate sunk into finger pointing, I was saddened.

The idea of "Freedom of Speech" being interpreted as 'using bad words, four lettered words and vulgarity' was the biggest disappointment of the show. As bloggers, we all know that freedom of speech extends beyond that. While some attempt was made to define parameters of this freedom to exclude personal attacks and racist attacks, as dictated by the law, it once again failed to address the main issue of this whole debate.

Ethical or Responsible Blogging in the context of Freedom of Speech.

Ultimately, what we wish to write on our blogs is our choice. But as bloggers we have to take ownership for what we write, and stop ducking behind regulations and definitions. We have to be responsible bloggers. This does not mean 'writing about social issues' as some of the panelists seem to think. In fact, it has very little to do with the content of our entries.

As an Indian, I take a step back to look at the culture that weaned me and made me the person I am, to define my role and responsibilities as a blogger. The Second Law of Manu, the great Indian political philosopher states that a king does not rule for himself, his dynasty, his clan, his varna [caste] or family. He rules for his people.

While we bloggers are not leaders of great nations, we are leaders in our own right, expressing opinions that will shape the ideology and opinions of our readers in this exciting new medium of blogging. It is in this context that I frame my opinion. I believe in the freedom of expressing one's opinion, but I strongly believe that this has to be tempered by a sense of what impact these opinions will have. Ultimately, this is what we must carry within our hearts when we try to be a responsible blogger.

Why do I say this? As bloggers, it might help if we remember that the pen/keyboard is a powerful instrument. To cite Spiderman, with great power comes great responsibility. We can instead turn this powerful medium of free expression towards making a positive impact.

Plato alludes to his cave of ignorance where the inhabitants view the shadows of people going and coming and decides that that is the world. Most people are inhabitants of that metaphorical cave, and the 'shadows' they see are in the Internet and on television. We the enlightened ones must lead them to the light. Bloggers are the enlightened ones of cyberspace, since people will read our writing, and form opinions on the things they don't know or understand based on how we explain it to them.

However benign the writer's intentions were, emotional pain and a ruined reputation are not things that can be fixed with an apology and cash settlement. One cannot mitigate the fact that lives have been ruined, and will continue to be ruined under the weight of irresponsible journalism, both on print and online.

Blogging fails in its objective the moment it crosses the boundaries of graciousness, because it reveals that the blogger has failed to understand his position as a person with the power to shape the opinions and ideas of his readers.

As Indians, we are weaned on a culture that advocates graciousness, with our literature, myth and legends ripe with heroes who were generous and kind. As Indian Bloggers, we really must remember to spread this very graciousness that is such a big part of our culture. It will only serve to cement our KLK identity.

In other words, think before you blog.

At the end of this post, you would have realised that I have very grandiose opinions about blogging. However, I do hope that this post at least shows the world that not all bloggers have fluff between their eyes, and that some of us do make an effort to understand our roles as bloggers and warriors on the frontier of free speech, and defendants of the KLK-identity in cyberspace.

Pesuvom Redux

Picture created by an American blogger on the issue of protecting First Amendment rights. It prohibits the federal legislature from making laws that establish religion (the "Establishment Clause") or prohibit free exercise of religion (the "Free Exercise Clause"), laws that infringe the freedom of speech, infringe the freedom of the press, limit the right to assemble peaceably, or limit the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

While the rest of you were busy sipping on tea/coffee, depending on your appraisal, a handful were down at MediaKorp last Wednesday to state their views on whether blogging should be controlled. A debate based entirely on where the line should be drawn. Keling Kween and I were down at MediaKorp representing the panelists on behalf of the KLKindred.

Now, what we were aware of was that 8 others would join in to wrangle this issue out. 5 in a team, we were expected to battle each other out on where the line should be drawn along with how much of a freedom we should take up in hand. But what we weren't aware of was that Barathi and Yuvaneswari [of previous Ms. Vasantham (in)fame] appeared as guest speakers to relate how blogs have affected them. This left us in uncertainty.

Were we there to talk about the freedom one should take in hand when blogging or were we there to defend ourselves as to why such comments were thrown at them during the Miss Vasantham beauty pageant proceedings? What was the agenda? In my opinion, their unexpected visit actually defied the objective of the proposed subject. Barathi had earlier questioned the host, unaware that we have connections everywhere watching every move, on who the guy was from KLK who wrote the post about the Vasantham girls [he was attempting a major paper in uni FYI]. Upon hearing it this minutes after they had posed the question, I knew very well this whole subject was heading a one way direction. Immediately, I expected an 'attack' and 'defend' session. [Oh well, we're all footy players anyway. Another day, another game]

The 'intended' debate was to tackle issues such as social responsibility, limits to freedom of speech and the use of vulgar language. Didn't look pretty much that way when the recording eventually got on its way. Much wasn't talked about social responsibilities nor limits to freedom of speech nor the use of vulgar language. Most of the show was spent arguing over the whole Miss Vasantham saga. A 30 minute episode had a one hour debate going on about why such comments were thrown at the girls.

We had to repeat time and again what we pen down in words are what we truly feel about a given subject. It's all about your perception. You can't take it cause you have a heart of butter and our words seem like a hot knife through it. We can't do anything about it. That's as far as you go. I believe that freedom of speech is the authorization handed to an individual to mention what one wishes to. Of course, we ain't just sitting behind the computer typing remarks. If there was any predicament arising from what we wrote, readers were given the rights to state their opinions in the comments. Else, get through to us VIA the links on this blog.

At the end of the day, after all was said and done, I don't think we owe anyone any explanation nor any apology for what we blog about. We feel like this, we blog this. If we have to restrict our point of view, then I think the word "freedom" has been mistaken. And a point I'd like everyone to take note. We in KLK don't just sit behind computers and type. We also come out and speak up when it's required. And like we have said on TV which will be aired pretty soon, we have the guts to state our opinion. At the same time, we also have the guts to face the repercussions. It's not like we blog under an anonymous identity or moniker and go underground.

On asked if blogging should be controlled, I agreed that it should to a certain extent. The vulgarities. Not the content that we're dealing with. But then again, if I am one who uses vulgarities even while speaking, then there is nothing wrong in me using vulgarities while blogging cos thats just me. What I blog is what I am. When there is no 'KNNBCCB!', there is no point in expressing a really agonizing or censure feeling. As for the content, I believe that everybody should be given the right to state their opinions. The definition of blog states that it's an online diary, I don't think anyone needs to worry about what they'll write about in their diary.

Pesuvom Poignance

Fresh from warming my bum on the sofa for half an hour. It was a total waste of viewing time. Like where were the flying beer jugs and "your mother ..." insults? A waste of reality programming in my humble opinion.

Still, this was a revelation. I think the KLKillahs should just swing 180 degrees and adopt a more "socially responsible" behaviour. God knows what we were doing all along with regards to shining the light on "society". Apparently, we were totally disillusioned and had our heads immersed in bags full of nitrous oxide. This is what is gonna happen now.

1. Only "socially responsible" issues will be written about - You don't need to know about unruly bus commuters, what's going on in local TV or even about dumb KLKriminals. What you are going to see henceforth, are strict expository [2 points YES, 2 points NO, Conclusion] on topics like education, politics, business and sports.

2. "You don't know who reads your blog" - We will turn this place into a private blog, fully password loaded so we know each and every one of the 500 odd souls who reload twice a day to read us. Registration includes full given name, IC number, existing residential address, age and your tolerance to sarcasm and cynicism so that we know exactly how to tailor a custom made post for you. Posts thus will not be published here but will be e-mailed to individual registrants so that they read only what they are capable of reading. We are an equal opportunity site.

3. The loss of face - The programme itself was conducted like a panchayat we often see in Tamil flicks. It wasn't a debate. Heck, it couldn't even pass off for a Pattimandram. Solomon Pappaiya would be quite displeased with this level of oral arguments. I only understood one thing through it all and it was harped on from start to end. Don't write anything that will make people lose face. That can be you, your folks, your siblings, your friends or complete strangers. Back to being Yindian and Asian and the ideal of protecting "maanam, rosham, suudu, sornai" at all times even to the brink of death. So, yeah, take your cue from what they said and even if you ate a restaurant that served you prata with cockroach eggs as a side dish, don't tell a soul. You are "hurting the owner's feelings".

4. People blog because they write better than they speak - Crap. We all write and speak well. We would speak for you even if given the chance. One man went "a blog is my online diary" and another went "well i don't want to read what your personal life is about". The plot is lost. The person who said that should also stop reading the newspapers and watching news because every single event reported is someone else's personal life. Get it? So, to combat not writing about issues we feel strongly about, we shall instead just concentrate on writing well. From now on, all posts will be following the style of those Edusave-paid-for "Creative Writing" classes in secondary schools. We will only use flowery prose, flowing sentences and strict essay structure. We might resort to some poetry or haikus to lessen the burden of having to read 800 word essays. So, stay tuned for that.

5. Expletives - I think it's fuckin lame that the question was even asked if fuckin swearing was against the fuckin rules. What rules? Ah yes, the unspoken Yindian rules of blogging, which were all covered above in the first 4 pointers. Firstly, do read up on the history and different contextual usages of the word HERE. Secondly, I think it's just damn fuckin wrong that some people think I can't go "fuck!". I don't have a problem with the way you dig your nose on the bus and wipe it on the seat in front. In fact, I'd want you to fuckin do it again so I can get my 10 minutes of YouTube fame.

Thirdly, the KLKillahs should be fuckin hanged for teaching all those fuckin ten year old kids who read us religiously how to swear. What the fuck were we thinking? Fourthly, it is not nice to swear cos what will people think of you? That, I can put thoughts to words with the same intensity and bring across a point in the most efficient manner, that's what. Conclusion? We need to stop swearing. From now on, everything is just "nice" or "good" or "great" or "bad".

So, I think this will solve all issues the conservatives have with us. But of course, there is one other way around this that will not require any of the five steps above. All of youse should just stop reading. It will do your troubled minds a lot of good. Ask us for a pamphlet too. For an all paid holiday to the "world where people are not sarcastic nor nasty nor have opinions and everyone is nice and sweet and love each other and don't swear; ever". Next sampan leaves in an hour.