#asshulz

Kolsek/Forestry Po! A #BuhayElbi film by Mac Andre Arboleda & Geraldine Loares

Screened at the 2019 Pelikultura CALABARZON Film Festival

bit.ly/34dE7Dt Mac Andre Arboleda

bit.ly/34dE7Dt, 2019, is a two-piece new media work that asserts a Chinese registrar’s role in domain squatting as inseparable from the ongoing developments in China’s geopolitical and techno-imperialist encroachment in the Philippines and all over the globe.

.COM is a screenshot of my previously owned website, asshulz.com, after my expired domain name was immediately taken by Beijing-based registrar XinNet Technology Corporation, superimposed with colors of the National Flag of the People’s Republic of China. At the time (around mid-2017), going to the URL would appear to redirect to Weibo.com, one of China’s biggest social media platforms.

NO PARKING SPACE (www.noparkingspace.neocities.org) is a website that lists publicly available information on domain names owned by XinNet Technology Corporation. I’ve added links to news articles and forum complaints on XinNet, and made use of a YouTube lyric video of Kunin Mo Na Ang Lahat Sa Akin by Filipino singer and actress Angeline Quinto embedded in the landing page.

XinNet is notorious for cybersquatting (also known as “domain parking”), defined by the Republic Act No. 10175 of the Philippines as “the acquisition of a domain name over the internet in bad faith to profit, mislead, destroy reputation, and deprive others from registering the same…”, a crime that could result in imprisonment or a heavy fine. Named "worst registrar" by anti-spam and internet security project Knujon in 2019, XinNet was linked to thousands of websites involved in illicit activity such as spam, cloning sites for ad revenue, pornography, and the selling of fake or unregulated prescription drugs and counterfeit items. Today, XinNet currently owns nearly 5,000,000 domains while China ranks as the world's worst abuser of internet freedom for the fourth consecutive year. ***

Kapok Tamod Engkanto (2020) Written & directed by Mac Andre Arboleda Starring Tim Cabato, Patricia Ysabel, Kordapia Kanasia and Susan Tolentino  Produced by UP Film Circle

A boy facing expulsion from university tries to uncover the myth of the Sperm Bridge to make ends meet.

Magpies discusses alternative publishing in Aplaya 2017

Magpies, represented by Mac Arboleda (known in the twitterverse as Asshulz), discussed Alternative Publishing and zine making in the recently concluded UP Congress by UPLB Writer’s Club last February 25.

The event, Aplaya 2017: Agham at Panitikang Mapagpalaya Mula Kulturang Popular Patungong Pulitika, featured discussions on a broad spectrum of topics delivered and facilitated by professors and UPLB organizations’ representatives during its two-day run.

Aplaya 2017 opened last February 24 with the lectures of Prof. Romeo dela Cruz of the Department of Humanities (DHUM) and Prof. Girlie Nora Abrigo of the Department of Social Sciences (DSS) about their examination of the state of the art in the Humanities and the Social Sciences, respectively.

Prof. dela Cruz, in his lecture, problematized the collapse of the traditional disciplines of the Social Sciences and the Humanities. He opined that the reintegration of the Arts into the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) would open up new ecologies in the creative practice as a result of interdisciplinarity. Meanwhile, Prof. Abrigo focused on the achievements of the DSS, and the limitations and contradictions of the state of Social Sciences as a field of study and practice in the Philippines.

The second day of the event commenced with keynote speeches from Mr. Mark Juluis Eusebio of the DSS and Ms. Amrie Cruz of KULAYAN about Culture and Counterculture, and the State of the Student Movement, respectively.

The afternoon sessions featured simultaneous classroom discussions on topics including Argumentation, Film, Photojournalism, Globalization, Populism & Patriarchy, Feminism as a Philosophy, Feminism in Flash Fiction, Mythology in Contemporary Literature, and Alternative Publishing among others. Members of Magpies participated in some these discussions.

The discussion on Alternative Publishing facilitated by Mr. Arboleda centers on the relevance and the necessity for alternative publishing as method to enrich the local art scene and to provide alternative perspectives in the local dialogues about relevant and timely issues. As an example, UP Los Baños which is commonly branded as a science-centered institution also foster a vibrant art scene evidenced by the successes of the local arts fairs and markets, such as Zine Orgy. In its third run, Zine Orgy was cited in the official UPLB website as one of UPLB’s major arts fair and that this event, as a venue for the convergence of LB artists, is a proof of the thriving arts inside and around the campus.

Delayed (Weekly Comics #3)

by Mac Andre Arboleda (Asshulz) !