"We were all delighted. We all realized that we are leaving confusion and non-sense behind and performing our one and noble function of the time...MOVE! And we moved."

- Jack Kerouac, On The Road

You can only be young once but
You can be immature forever

Dennis

jdbacsafra@yahoo.com
Visits since July 1, 2006:   visit counter

About Me

I was born and raised in Manila, Philippines...a child of the martial law era during Marcos' regime. My family moved to Orange County, California after I finished high school. Then, I went to college at UC Berkeley and resided at the International House. The San Francisco Bay Area is arguably the most livable metropolis in the planet. So, I happily stayed and worked there for several years after graduation. I also lived in Barcelona to study Castillian Spanish intensively. Prior to that, I backpacked by myself across Europe and North Africa for six months. But, Spain is still my favorite country. Two years ago, I moved to Amsterdam for graduate studies in International Development. My fieldwork was in the beautiful island of Cebu where I conducted research for four months. I started my own company a few years ago. Avatrian is a full-service metaverse development shop with a significant presence in Second Life. A few years after that, I spun-off a separate machinima production studio named Machitopia. And, running these companies is what preoccupies a huge chunk of my time at the moment. But, I'm always up for taking on new and interesting challenges. Comfort is the enemy.

Written Works

Examples of my academic and professional writing can be downloaded in full for each of the articles below:
The Constant Poor
Assessing the Real Impacts of Micro-finance in the Rural Philippines: From Capability Approach to Multivariate Analysis
Purchasing Power Parity, The Big Mac Index, and Wages
A look into the issue of purchasing power parity (PPP) and the debate surrounding its existence in the short run
Beyond Coconuts
The Quest for Informationalization in the Philippines
Of Fish and Men
An Analysis on Aquaculture’s Future Promise
Invader or Liberator?
A Case Study of Two Photo Journals on the Iraq War
Economic Analysis on the Use of Digital Sound Samples
Weighing the costs and benefits of sampling methods in the music industry

General Interests

Tea, microfinance, snowboarding, computers & technology, Filipino food, machinima, Starcraft, todo sobre España, the web, wine tasting, mythology of all sorts, hostels, economics, Second Life, world travel, used books, modern art, backpacking & hiking, Facebook, sushi

Favorite Books

Amador, Sex Drugs & Cocoa Puffs, The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy, The Lexus and The Olive Tree, Fastfood Nation, Cien Años de Soledad, The Alchemist, Andromeda Strain, The Iliad, Harry Potter, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Sophie's World, Ender's Game, The Sheltering Sky, Where the Wild Things Are, Different Seasons, Alfred Hitchcock: The Three Investigators, Dragon Prince, The Name of the Rose.

Favorite Movies

The Reader, Slumdog Millionaire, Requiem for a Dream, Kathmandu, Leon, Kungfu Hustle, Como Agua Para Chocolate, The Princess Bride, Serenity, Casablanca, City of God, Star Wars, Les Feluettes, Chungking Express, Empire of the Sun, Pride and Prejudice, Kill Bill, Toto the Hero, Y Tu Mama Tambien, Gone with the Wind, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Closer.