A Six Sentence Christmas Story by Jamie Bautista

Jamie Bautista had a neat activity for Christmas in Facebook! This post was on his timeline last December 24, 2019.

 Post any photo as a reply to this and say a genre. I'll write a 6 sentence max (genre) Xmas story for the first 10 today.

Jumping into his challenge, I replied with this photo:

Taken on December 12, 2019 between 5.45 PM - 6PM at the Beacon Academy campus using an iPhome 6s.

 Below is Jamie's story which he posted as a reply to my photo and genre, which is Gothic.

 ”Is that seriously the tree you want?” Lord Habershenk asked his wife, Lady Trudy, as the couple stared at the bare and craggly old tree, the moonlight casting web-like shadows on their faces.

“It’s perfect, darling,” Lady Trudy exclaimed. “I can already picture us putting it in the east wing of the manor, hanging all this tinsel and aluminium balls on it and putting on top that glorious gold-leaf star we got during that trip to Bangkok.”

“Isn’t that the tree where Margaret Goldmore hung herself five years ago?” Lord Habershenk asked, sounding almost hesitant to bring up this dark history.

“Darling, I want a Christmas tree that took a life, so I can try to bring life to it. Isn’t that what this season is all about?” Lady Trudy laughed with an unsettling giddiness in her voice.

Now this is how you engage readers in story creation using social media tools. 

More about Jamie Bautista's works featured in the blog:
Jamie Bautista in Sagada
Private Iris on YouTube

Social Media and College Applications

Courtesy of: Schools.com

The Rise of Facebook & Mark Zuckerberg

The Busy Librarian's post about Facebook is one piece I wish I'd have written. Interesting insights!

Zuckerberg's invention has been phenomenal. Then again, there are skeptics who say that Zuckerberg's rise to online power may soon find its demise. As all things are, what goes up will eventually go down. But we're having fun, are we not? We find old friends in Facebook and connect with distant relatives abroad. I, for one, get my invitations to do workshops and lectures in Facebook. I get the news from TV and the internet, but flooding in Australia takes on a more human and realistic view when a friend set her profile at how Brisbane floods rivaled ours. A breakfast cereal eaten in the morning sounds very trivial, but I want to try it for its nutritional value. I buy my clothes from friends in Facebook now. That saves me the hassle of going to the malls. I tag photos of friends and family and somehow, we're closer sharing something in common no matter how mundane it is.

Facebook is not just a tool to connect people anymore. It's an environment that has to be managed and a community that fosters interaction.

Deal with it.

Facebook and the Great FLood

I am stranded in Quezon City while I write this. I am dry, warm and well fed. Where I am, there is electricity and wifi connection. I should not complain given my current predicament in the midst of this epic flood. But my mind wanders off to Pasig City where my husband, two kids and yaya (nanny) are. The last SMS I got from them was that the water has reached the dinning table and that they are all staying in the second floor of our house. Electricity has been cut as well as the water supply. It is going to be a long night for me.

I am worried and very miserable despite the comfort afforded by friends who are stuck in the clinic too. I am kept abreast with news via online and Facebook. And if these are consolations, then I thank God for the contact to the outside world.

It's interesting to read the posts and profile of friends and contacts. Facebook has now become a support group, a prayer request room, an emergency hotline, a news room, and a venue where you can get updates from friends and family.