Propaganda: Revolutionary Art and Literature Aided by Technology at the Lopez Museum

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Myth-making may be the key element to what transpired during the yesteryears of war and election. It was a generation when outright fallacies are often promised to people hopeful for change to experience a life that is better. But wait! Who am I kidding? It is still the present day scenario. We are still in a time when man would do all in an attempt to overpower or redeem.

People revolt when the change they long for are forgotten or taken for granted. Most of the times our emotions overpower our logic. Our first impulse is to undermine our faulty government or leaders as if expecting they are faultless and know-it-all.

The past years were never free of anger and raging emotions. There would always be appalling incidents when man attacks his fellow man due to various inexplicable reasons, mostly trivial, lots of times inhuman, due to excessive greed or misguided passion. I hate to accept the glaring impressions that man is naturally barbaric.

The Propaganda exhibit happening from February 6  to May 30 at the Lopez Museum (located inside the Benpres building in Ortigas Center) showcases several images of, as what artist Nunelucio Alvarado keep saying during our tour, "Puro-paganda" - the days of our grandparents from a long time ago that still evokes similarities of the present day.

Scan Safely Using Secure QR Scanner of Kaspersky Lab

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Kaspersky Lab recently introduced its latest mobile application called Kaspersky QR Scanner. This program is compatible with Google Android and Apple iOS and can not only read information from QR codes, but also warn users about potentially dangerous links within them.

Fraudsters are constantly coming up with new tricks to lure users to their malicious sites. One dodge that has become popular recently is to encrypt a phishing link in a quick response (QR) code.

QR codes offer a convenient tool to send links to a mobile device, from computer screens or printed pages.

However, while experienced users can recognize fake URLs on screen, there is no way of identifying a rogue QR code with the naked eye.

This means cybercriminals are not only able to replace pictures with codes online; they can also physically glue their malicious QR codes over genuine ones on real-world posters and notices.

Phishing itself – the creation of fake pages in order to obtain users' personal data or infect their devices with malware – Is nothing new. It has been used by cybercriminals for many years.

Valentine's Day: Hit Us Again With Your Pointy Arrows Dear Cupid

Wazzup Pilipinas!

We all know Valenine's Day is one of those special days when boys get to have an excuse on becoming a little more intimate with the girls they are courting, or when lovers have that expectation that their partners will be giving them a bouquet of red roses, coupled with a box of Ferrero and a greeting card with loving dedications.

But in this digital age when greetings are now being sent via social media through PMs and mobile chats, don't be surprised if you receive the digital versions of the traditional Valentine's Day gifts. These are some of the times when technology becomes a bit insensitive and less sentimental. It takes away the romantic experience of swooning from the delightful display of affection. Is this the price we pay in exchange of economic development and advancement in technology?

Why do you think Cupid is depicted as a young child? He's not a big fat guy that looks like he's nine months pregnant. Because love should remain young and vibrant. It should not be replaced by a less personal digital greeting card of this time zone. It should remain a pure and sensible face-to-face interaction between two individuals sharing a bond that should last a lifetime. It should never grow old and fade away into nothing but memories of the good old romantic days. Just like the world of Peter Pan, there should always be love and passion in our own Neverland.

But why does Cupid shoot arrows to the heart? Because true love is not all fun and pleasure, it hurts most of the time. I guess we could assume that Cupid probably doesn't have a healthy 20/20 vision ... and it would help a lot if he would consider shooting both couples. Love is not really good if it's one-sided. Please bear in mind dear Kupido, that unrequited love is more heartbreaking than break-ups. Got it?