Wikipedia Mania

Wala pa nung Myx
Wala pa nung MTV
Wala pa nung Internet
Wala pa ring CD or DVD
Meron lang Betamax.
from the song "Betamax" by Sandwich

IT WAS the second time around my two girls and I watched the Tanduay First Five concert at the old Bacolod City airport last May 22, 2010. The date of the said concert was doubly significant for Sandwich lead vocalist Raimund Marasigan as it was his natal day.

I particularly like this song, which the band Sandwich sang during both concerts, because my age permits me to make comparisons of past and present eras as to the amenities enjoyed by people during such periods.

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So what could we possibly add to the song "Betamax" by Sandwich as proof of the changing times? I can't think of anything else that the song missed and so may I just expound it a little bit more by stating here that "noon merong Encyclopedia Americana, pero ngayon may Wikipedia."

Thanks to this modern-day innovation, I learned so many things, from how an electric generator works to trivia about Tanduay First Five bands, namely: Sandwich, 6 Cyclemind, Chicosci, Kamikazee and Bamboo. The former topic is quite hard to grasp because of the scientific terms mentioned in the write-up. The many nights I spent just reclining and fanning myself to beat the heat and keep the pesky mosquitos away prompted me to read up on this scientific marvel that provides electricity during power failures. Sheer magic to a layman's point of view.

So who's the genius behind this modern-day paperless encyclopedia we know as Wikipedia? He's actually an American Internet entrepreneur named Mr Jimmy Wales who serves on the Board of Trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit charitable organization which operates Wikipedia.