Mind theft, scene stealer

Is the internet to blame for the rampant plagiarism?

Yes and no.

Yes, the hodgepodge of knowledge, trivia, and information readily available--and downloadable--in the internet is one of the culprits for plagiarism. The spontaneity of the  internet  allows people to share information as their own. There may be watermarks in some of the uploaded photos but they can be erased and fabricated to make a seemingly ingenious and original work of art.

There is the principle of proper attribution but many forget--intentionally or otherwise--to do so.

Just recently, a UP student won an international photo contest after submitting a photograph of a boy with a seaweed farm backdrop. The child, according to Mark Joseph Solis, was from Zamboanga City in Mindanao, where there is an ongoing standoff. It turned out, Solis PLAGIARIZED and CLAIMED THE PHOTO AS HIS, when in fact the winning photo was actually taken by Brazil-based photographer, Gregory John Smith.

Solis won $1,000 and round-trip tickets to Chile and Brazil.

Smith of course, cried foul. And so am I!

I am a writer from a major newspaper and one of the basic rules in professional journalism is plagiarism. If one is to copy, he or she must properly attribute the sources. But it doesn't take a writer to know the ins and outs of plagiarism when it is actually taught in school. Besides, taking something from someone sans acknowledging it is a basic rule of nature.

I am aghast and disappointed with Solis, not that I know him personally. According to news stories, he is a U.P. Political Science graduate and is currently taking Masteral degree in Public Administration in the same school. He is also a debater and has competed across Asia. Furthermore, he was given scholarship grants in Japan and Thailand.

"Unfortunately, I was driven by my youth, lack of experience, and inability to see the repercussions of my action. The sheer amount of the prize, the stiff competition, and the unique opportunity to be abroad," Solis says in his apology letter.

I CANNOT TAKE AND UNDERSTAND HIS CAUSES AND REASONS, FOR ME THEY ARE PURE ALIBI.

Come on! He's from U.P. (the top school in the Philippines) and of legal age, he surely knows what he's doing. Apparently, Solis has been plagiarizing for at least five times and has never been caught until now.

Solis should be kicked out from school! What a shame!

For more information, read the news stories from Rappler and Yahoo! Philippines

Solis' "winning photo" captioned as "The Mettle of the Filipino Spirit". The boy, according to Solis, was Nilo from Zamboanga City. The photograph was in fact grabbed from Smith's Flickr account, originally titled, "Neptune, King of the Sea". 

Photo from Yahoo! Philippines, which they grab from Facebook 

 

Someone reads

Oh, young Hollywood!

Oh, Young Hollywood!

Miley Cyrus, her tongue, and twerk—didn’t we see these coming? Hollywood has been infamous for publicity stunts, anyway

Former Disney teen star Miley Cyrus was right when she said in her song, she “can’t be tamed”.

 Her recent stint in the MTV Video Music Awards (VMA) drew worldwide flaks from netizens who said they were “disgusted” and “personally violated” after Cyrus was seen grinding and twerking (booty-shaking) singer Robert Thicke.

Many were surprised. But didn’t we see this coming?

Some Hollywood A-listers, starlets, and former Disney child stars have always been known for over-the-top performances and outrageous outfits. Their O.A. stints—done tastefully or otherwise—are answers to drive public attention, perhaps because of a waning star factor or as a surprise self-reinvention stint.  

In fact, despite her winless stint in the VMA, Cyrus seemed to be delighted with the attention she has been getting.  She said on her Twitter account (@MileyCyrus):

“Smilers! My VMA performance had 306.000 tweets per minute. That’s more than the blackout or Superbowl! #fact.”

You know what they say bad publicity is still publicity. 

'Twerk' is one of the newest word in the Oxford Dictionary (photo from MTV)

Actually, VMAs, MTV Movie Awards (MMAs), and other award shows have been notorious for some orchestrated and spontaneous stints aside from Miley and her perennial tongue sticking. Here are some of the most memorable Hollywood stunts and crazy ensemble worth remembering—or not? Seriously, what were they thinking?

2001 Britney Spears was feeling Superwoman when she wore her underwear outside her pants. The ridiculous outfit was part of her self-reinvention from a teenybopper to a bombshell. She even had a live snake on her shoulders during her “I’m a Slave 4 U” performance in VMA.

2003 Ten years ago have passed since pop singer Britney Spears and the Queen of Reinvention herself, Madonna, was caught in a lip-locked moment after their performance with Christina Aguilera. The lesbian kiss was definitely a shocker!

2009 Remember when Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift during her acceptance award for Best Female Video, saying that Beyonce should have bagged the award instead? Yes, we were just as shocked as Taylor.

2009 Meanwhile, in MMA, Rapper Eminem was reported to have walked out of the event after Sasha Cohen Baron strutted his butt-cheeks on Eminem’s face. Aghast as the audience was, however, the incident was staged, reports said.

2010 Was Lady Gaga a PETA poster-girl when she decided to wear an all-meat ensemble to receive her VMA recognitions? Nobody knew. But one thing’s for sure, this was definitely one of the weirdest stunts she’s ever done.

2012 Singers Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, and Gaga were among the worst dressed celebrities. Their crazy outfits all scream for attention!

It’s a “cray-cray” Hollywood after all where we are always in for a surprise.