elliott's night

I gotta say last night… was Elliott’s night. His two performances were definitive. He was great great great! I was really moved by ‘If I can dream.’ Simon was right, he showed he deserved to be in the semi-finals. I can confidently say he sounded better than chris and taylor last night. I hope he goes through.

My poor Kathy was at a disadvantage, it was a boy’s night. The theme was just not for her although her first performance was hot!

wrthless lnguage

am i a magnet for "filipinos!?" (and yes im using filipino as a derogatory term here) hahahaha the girl beside me in the jeep earlier was using me as her backrest! the bitch! i know im fat but i definitely don't look like a couch! she should sit straight-up! i really shoved her a little in the right direction. and then i overheard her saying to her boyfriend (she recieved an sms) "kinumpleto!... ang tanga naman nito di marunong magshortcut..." who does she think is stupid here!? maybe this girl already forgot that the CORRECT way of writing things is not in this stupid txt shrcts language.

have we become so idiotic that the accetable form is this shitty text language which i am disgusted with!? poor poor philippines.... :-(

Gross

(don't read ahead if you haven't taken your dinner yet)

i think i've been in my most disgusting FX ride yet. the guy beside me was sound asleep, snoring and worst of all! DROOLING! and it's not the flowing in the cheeks type (hehehe) his head was hanging down so it made a visible string from his mouth to his lap, yech... perhaps he's just so tired. it's really embarassing. very viscous eeeew! hahahaha! and the two rabbits in my front we're busy doing something perversive on the other hand (i was sitting at the back by the door). what a night...

I know... I know...

Thank you God! You saved Elliott once again. He should choose songs wisely now. I wonder if they can contact their families and other people to ask advice on their song choices… hmm… I think they can’t divulge information.

My honest evaluation of the remaining contestants is that :

• In General – all the four remaining contestants are good vocalists. It will be really a favoritism battle. Paris also had a good vocal ability and she just fell short on her fanbase perhaps.
• Kathy – will have no problem with working the audience (especially me hehehe), it’ll be song choices that’ll be the limiting factor. No vocal problem at all. I still believe she’ll end up the winner.
• Chris – has less audience appeal than Kathy, probably his rocker attitude. He showed his weakness this week, his voice may be giving up. His song choices are ok so far. He’ll definitely be in the final two
• Elliott – I place him on third pretentiously fantasizing that he’ll overcome Taylor. Voice is great, but bad song choices. You can’t get on choosing bad songs. Based on yesterday alone, Elliott deserved to go. But Lady Luck loves my team ^_^
• Taylor – has never been in the bottom anything. His bottom has been on the floor though. It’ll all depend on the voters who’ll go home next. Voice is great, always chooses songs as white as his hair to be safe, I’d like to see him try interpreting a song way out of his usual repertoire. But I doubt he’ll do it at this stage.

You can tell...

…by now that I’m becoming obsessed. Well, what’s new? Hehehe. Kathy, you can’t do wrong anything in my eyes. Kathy’s performances were great last night, I’m not sure if randy was right about the pitchy things, it didn’t sound pitchy on TV. The second performance was even greater, with the sitting on the floor and the other people on stage.

I’m afraid last night may be the last for Elliott. I’m really sad thinking about it. He has a very good quality in his voice. And I’m sure I’ll buy any album of his when he gets a deal. Bad song choices, it’s all there is to it. and I totally agree that you can’t be singing “…I wanna go Home…” Hehehe. I pray it’ll be paris saying bye bye instead of him ^_^ but he deserves it.

By the way, Kathy... thank you for the wardrobe malfunction ^_^ hehehehe

hah!

they apologized to my kathy!! the three judges said that when they watched back the taped, it wasn't bad at all! hmmp! see! i was right!

i think tonight, ryan grouped the two contestants who will battle until the end. my kathy vs. chris. although i want elliot to reach the final two, i'm not sure why not a lot of people vote for him. he is definitely better than my namesake the rocker.

'twas a busy day

VOTE FOR KATHERINE!!!

• went to nbi to get my fbi fingerprint form accomplished so i can send it. i'll have to go back to claim my nbi clearance though.
• i went to plm yesterday to get a transcript (again) and i was excited ma’am vitug gave me ma’am plaza’s email in the u.s. i was really happy to know she’s teaching again! highschool biology in fact in ca. i hope i can see her if my trip to san diego gets pushed through.
• enrolled in level 3 spanish, lola's still our teacher for a week. there were a few newcomers, im glad most of our original group from levels 1 & 2 are still there. i feel a little uncomfortable meeting new people always.
• then of course, i can't miss ai. i totally disagree with the judges comments last night for my kathy. my baby kathy sang whitney houston’s “i have nothing.” it wasn’t bad at all! maybe it sounded different in the studio but it certainly didn’t sound out of tune in tv. it wouldn’t help that she went first, but i think she won’t have to worry being in the bottom three. for me the bottom three this week: paris – they she sang the way we were, sorry, not just oversang it, i think it was awful; taylor – they were right, it was sooo karaoke, it was a bad song choice, a very common song like that; kellie – it is just simply… bye bye kellie. for me, it’s either kellie or paris who’s goin bye bye
• elliot. my man! you go dawg! hahaha great great great performance, this might catch on as your signature idol song. congratulations. chris also did good, i just think by the age of 40+ he won’t have any voice left at all. better take care of your throat, chris.
• i saw a movie about a teacher ron clark. matthew perry of friends played him and in the movie his teaching put his students to the top of the district. i only saw a little of the last few minutes of the movie. i want to see the entire movie. he wrote a book, “the essential 55.”
• oh btw, i just want to share that i'm recently enjoying watching "the o.c." my only trouble is that two cable channels are showing it simultaneously with different seasons. and since i've only just begun to watch it, i'm frantically switching channels trying to get everything hahahaha! it's a very good mixture of comedy and dramatic moments for me.

Happy Birthday Barbra

movie marathon

yesterday, i watched 7 movies! hehehe! now i have to apologize again to the movie emperor ^_^ i have to talk about these movies :

• origins of the da vinci code – well, it was a documentary. the truth of the matter is, i am not crazily amazed by what this documentary presents. pentacles in the landscape, aligned churches, and mountains, etc. with the abundance of mountains, i can fit any pattern i wanted to see. i can understand hidden codes in text and patterns in paintings because it’s man-made but i do not see god’s purpose for aligning some mountains in france and letting it be discovered by some people in my lifetime. not that i am saying that i understand god’s motives. i do not. but what i do understand is that if god had a message, he made it known. i believe in the bible. when he wanted something known he sent a messenger, he appeared himself if he had to. to me, this was entertaining but the content is crap.
• the family stone – i really felt for sarah jessica parker’s character. i felt crushed whenever something bad happened to her. everything that happened to her can really happen in one way or another in someone else’s life. embarrassing situations… been there. you have to watch this to understand J i’m glad the end was light though. i’m a sucker for good endings ^_^
• nanny mcphee - like the line “when you need me but don’t want me, i will stay. when you want me but don’t need me, i have to go..” great movie! the children are devils in the beginning. i don’t care if they are sad or frustrated by the death of their mother or if their father ignores them, but they don’t have to be so evil. well, they got what they deserved. emma thompson was great here!little manhattan – a cutsey movie. i really liked it. the musings of young love set on manhattan island and central park. lovely. hehehe it reminded me of… those were the days my friend… la la la nyahahaha
• bewitched – what can i say… i understood why this moviel... hmmm… how should i put it? …. flopped hahahaha! lucky will ferrel, got to kiss nicole kidman several times. i watched the trailer after the movie… and watching the minutes long trailer was better than watching the whole movie. the only redeeming factor was the great shirley mclaine ^_^
• flightplan – jodie foster’s character was crazy! hahaha! i’d understand why the captain ignored her, she did not approach the situation eloquently if i may use the term. she just went crazy all over the place, i understood the situation, whoever lost their children are really bound to go crazy, but it didn’t help at all. overall it was… fine.
• brokeback mountain – cinematography was great. actors were great. the sheep were great, even though most of them weren’t real. i understood the story as a whole, but i cannot understand heath ledger’s talking though. i’m not sure if he was mumbling or talking at any time, well except when he was shouting. jake gyllenhaal’s character was the one who needed more attention from men here, and as i understood it, he was killed by guys who maybe discovered he was gay. overall, it was a fine movie but i think ang lee extended it too much than it needed to be. it was just too damn long and it made it a drag to watch the last few scenes. now, i really want to see crash, a lot of people tell me , this is a really good movie. i have to see for myself so i can compare it to brokeback and assess whether the ranting of the author after they lost the oscar has basis.

My Week's Top Five - XVI

• inipit – marge’s dad introduced me to inipit / it’ll surely hike your blood glucose levels to oil prices high / i like the custard one that i tasted
• chocolate chip cookies – my mom bought a horde of chocochip cookies / and i think i devoured more than a dozen!
• assessment in special and inclusive education – im really starting to learn what the correct ways of assessing students are / and that testing is not assessment but only a part of it from this book / im realizing that test construction in medicine is a big piece of shit! / i hope that when time comes / our generation will be better equipped to pass on medicine to doctors of the future
• spanish – im liking every minute of it / i recently got a Spanish dictionary for my pocket pc so i can search faster / so my vocabulary is increasing a bit / i hope i can tackle with it even when classes start
• Comfort and joy – an unknown movie i chanced upon on HBO / it was just a nice heart warming movie / this businesswoman crashed her car on christmas eve and awakened to a new life / a wonderful new life with a man she never met and she had two wonderful children! / she was doing charity work and living a simple life / then she woke up in the crash and there was the man in her dream / saving her / her first line… “I’ve always loved you… always” nice! HAHAHA

I Love You Kathy McPhee!!!

MARRY ME KATHY McPHEE !!!

• I just finished watching tonight's episode. Kathy sang Someone to Watch Over Me. Sob... Sob... I'm sorry kathy I can't vote for you from here. Why!??? Why!???? MARRY ME!!!! WHAA!!! I can possibly jump on a couch!... Ten times if you wish for it.
• on a side note, why do you have to ruin elliott's performance simon!? he did a great job. i thought his performance was superlative and i don't understand simon's comment. i hope it's not bye bye time yet for my other idol.
• in my opinion, it's either kellie or ace's who should be goin' bye bye

spring break

it may be spring break for u.s. students but my classmates have just started the dreaded and tortuous clerkship. i'm waiting for their blog entries that will chronicle their suffering or (sige na nga) nice experiences ^_^ i've already read supersexy ivy's blog, and her assignment to the psychiatry ward became a mill for her famous quotable quotes hehehe. i recommend you go click on her blog and read a few.

this blogging thing's really great for these kind of things. now, more people get to vent their frustrations, share their experiences to people who value them and friends get updated of the latest tsismis on their friends or their crushes or whoever. hehehe

mmm, i think i haven't wrote about my latest thoughts on AI. well, i could've appreciated more if ace was removed instead of bucky, poor bucky, but it was not bound to last. elliot is strike two on the bottom three, i hope it does not continue this way. he is my favorite male contender and i hope he makes it into top three, or two. but of course i'm McPHEE all the way!!!

Descripción

one of our last assignments in level 2 spanish is to write a paragraph describing a person. what i'm saying here is pretty basic, i just thought i'd share what i did ^_^

Mi favorita actriz y cantante es Barbra Streisand. Es Americana-Judia de Nueva York pero ahora vive en Malibu, California. Tiene sesenta y tres años. Es un poco bajita, rubia, tiene el pelo liso y los ojos azules. Tiene la nariz grande, cuello largo, y las labios finos. Es muy inteligente y buena en negocios, acciones y valores. Tiene muchos sentido del humor también. A ella le gusta adornar su casa. Ella tiene muchas películas: comedias y musicales. Tiene sesenta mas o menos elepés tambien! Ahora, ella es la segunda de los diez primeros cantantes de Estados Unidos con más discos vendidos, y la segunda de la lista, después de Elvis Presley .

Ella tiene una voz muy bonita. Su voz es alta, muy alta y relajada. Algunas de mis favoritas canciones de Barbra son: Evergreen, Ordinary Miracles, With One More Look at You y On Holy Ground. Mi sueño es ver a ella en un concierto.

Holy Week 2006

• i went to marge's yesterday for our annual participation in accompanying their image in the good friday procession. it seems my two girls are very happy. well... we lost lots of story-updating time, but anyway, they wanted to share the moment with their boys.
• i was reading my classmates' (who are going into clerkship tomorrow) messages in our yahoo groups. and i honestly had trouble sleeping and had an upset stomach from just reading what they are about to do. i was like in the garden of gethsemane having agony with jesus OMG! i hope i'll have the strength and courage to face clerkship when my time comes..
• i hope the people coming back from resting will be more work-focused instead of bickering about politics and wanting to continuously create havoc.

swimming in the sky

we took a dip atop aina's condo-pool in vito cruz. thank you to meg and ate ara for slipping us in hahahaha! it's my first experience swimming at a rooftop swimming pool, and now i'm nagging my mom to buy a unit in the soon-to-be-built burgundy tower in forbes hehehe.

the image is my best effort to capture the makati skyline without a tripod ^_^ pretty lame huh...

found this somewhere

nice... i found this sometime ago in a bookstore, didn't know they issued a la naval stamp.

The New Trashy Streisand Bio

this is a fan's account of barbra's participation in al gore's 2000 fundraising vs. the new trashy unofficial streisand bio, 'the way she is.' the book is really full of shit,

I got the new Barbra bio today from Amazon.com. Very, very gossipy and there's really nothing "new" that we don't already know about Barbra. But, it has many, many lies in it. Especially the August 17th, 2000 concert for Al Gore - The Democratic Nomination Celebration Concert that Barbra participated in.

I was in Barbra's choir for that concert, I was there, and NONE of the "gossipy" things that are written about her is true!!!!! After reading it, I got so angry. I can't even begin to imagine what Barbra goes through each and every time this happens to her.

He writes........during a 6 hour rehearsal, she demanded that a small table be set up onstage, and that a pot of hot tea be placed on the table. But she hated the beige tablecloth, and the green one that replaced it. After two hours and a half-dozen tablecloths (blue, yellow, white, red and white checks), she finally settled on one in cranberry. NOT TRUE!!!

First off, our rehearsal with Barbra...........the choir and her band..........was not 6 hours, it was about 2 hours. She did not demand that a table be on stage, she asked for one and one was brought out. When haven't we seen a table on stage when Barbra sings?? She did go through several color choices for the table and chose one that she liked. That process didn't take 2 hours. It took, maybe 10 minutes. That's what you do at rehearsals.........you check your mic, you check your props, etc. That's the whole point of rehearsing!

He then writes................after her performance, Barbra ran into her dressing room and began wailing, "I looked TERRIBLE!" she said. "The lighting was awful! Why did the camera keep shooting me in profile! Goddammit! I look like @#%$!" she shot back, oblivious to the fact that the crowd was still roaring it's approval.

NOT TRUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

First off, Barbra didn't have a dressing room. The Shrine Auditorium where the concert was, has many floors of dressing rooms - including very large ones with sitting areas, green rooms, etc. Barbra didn't have this. She had more of a changing area off-stage left. It was put together with draperies, wood and pipes holding it together. Certainly not something you would think that a person of Barbra's stature would have. She had an entire building of dressing rooms to choose from. She was happy with what was made for her.

When the concert was completely over and the curtain came down, Barbra stayed on stage and milled around with the political guests that were there..........Al and Tipper Gore, Joseph Lieberman and his wife and others. They were all talking and laughing and in a very, very good mood!

During the entire day at The Shrine, Barbra couldn't have been more professional! Originally after we, the choir were finished singing - an upstage black curtain was to have come down and we would have been done. Then she was going to bring Gore and Lieberman on stage. She said, "Don't have the choir go away. Have them on stage." Then she turned to us and said, "You don't want to leave, do you?" To which we all said, "NO!"

Barbra changed it to have us remain, and, we sang the chorus of "Happy Days" during her curtain calls. Gore and Lieberman would then be brought up on stage. We then would sing the chorus of "Simply The Best" - Gore's theme song! We rehearsed it a few times and it was great, just great!!!!

During the rehearsals, Barbra constantly said how great we all sounded and what a treat it was for her to be "backed up." In other words, all the weight of the evening wasn't on her shoulders. She commented that it was nice to perform in a much smaller venue.....comparing to The MGM Grand or Madison Square Garden.

When the concert started, we, the choir assembled behind the black curtain. I was lucky enough to be stage left and I could see Barbra in the wings, pacing before she went on. She was nervous. But, she was acting like any other person who's about to go out on stage. She was talking and laughing with the stage crew, checking her hair and makeup.....right there......not in a dressing room, not with a hundred assistants hovering over her.......just Barbra........a performer........about to perform!

During the show, when Barbra brought Gore on stage, he acknowledged how great the choir sang. Barbra acknowledged it again, as well. When the concert was over and the curtain came down, Barbra was all smiles, turned upstage, we made eye contact, I blew her a kiss and she thanked me!! A moment I will NEVER, NEVER forget!!!!

There's been so much that has been written about Barbra that is so not true. And, just because it's written, doesn't mean that it's true. That is the power of the written word.

I just wanted to share with you and your many Barbra fans who read this site, what really happened on that historic Thursday night of August 17th, 2000.

Thanks...

Neal

this was posted on craig's the barbra streisand forum. thank you so much neal for standing up for ms. streisand. celebrity life must really be a big shit, especially when so many bad things are being said about you. it just becomes so easy to be mean, the way they want you to be, so they'll prove they're right.

lz

Idol Update

hehehe, my feelings are coming true. altough, melissa got booted before lisa, they were on the bottom of my AI girl list. bye bye lisa, i admire she was very composed when she got eliminated. as for the other two on the bottom three, i CANNOT CANNOT believe my baby katherine would be put there, ace, nevermind he really should be kicked, pulling a showing little skin stunt wouldn't help you boy! i though katherine had the strongest performance of that evening and i wonder whether people laxed in their voting thinking she doesn't need help. vote people! vote!

My Week's Top Five - XV

did i skipped a week? oh yeah... ^_^ and when i'm supposed to have my final exam on tues, now i'm posting. hahaha!

i must've tortured you with my looong post on american idol didn't i? i hope you can hear the songs i'm referring to, they are just wonderful. it was sad to see melissa (AI) go, but someone had to. i just hope kellie won't get eliminated before chicken little gets eliminated. this reminds me, i don't know if sandy reads this blog, but i've talked to her and she watches american idol too.

i've moved on to module 2 level 1 in my spanish class, i'm really enjoying it. my teacher's a blast! love lola! lola's short for dolores in spain, as she shares with us... which brings us to the dolores on my favorite list... (hahaha segue)

1. sister act - dolores is whoopi goldberg's character's name. i love it when the sisters sing ^_^ i downloaded the songs from the soundtrack and keep on repeating them. salve regina, my guy (my god), and i will follow him.
2. century tuna spanish style - i talked about this with verle hahaha i love love love it, i eat it whenever i'm alone eating, which is a lot!
3. kalabasa with gata - mmm mmm mmm
4. dra. minerva calimag - if someone asked me who's my favorite pharma doctor-professor, you know the answer. (sip-sip)
5. my no bullshit reviewer - i seem to have tapped into the minds of my teachers, what i usually write down as the most probable questions do appear on the exam, well that's being a veteran brings about hahahaha!

lz

Barbra Week on AI - - a fantasy

here's babs during the agassi fundraising event last year around christmas. this is a 63 year old woman! vavavoom ^_^ (oh, btw, he and andre agassi were once... hehehe).

anyway, i always fantasize there would be a barbra week on american idol. i doubt she'll ever do it. well but i think if she does, she'll be a really good teacher to them, and her experience as a director will also help them on their stage performance. of course they should start practicing up hahahaha! if i were to select a song for the top 12, it would be the following :

• elliot - my favorite guy so far. he has great control, and as i observe, he hasn't even given 100% of his full vocal potential. my song selection for him, The Music that Makes Me Dance. this song is from Funny Girl originally, but bab's only recorded it for his A Love Like Ours album. i think the lyrics can easily be changed to a male version. i think this will really showcase elliot's talents. go soar elliot!
• chris - great performer. i like the quality of his voice. he's second guy on my list and i choose The Woman in the Moon. the lyrics can easily be modified so it will work. this is one of bab's rock songs from A Star is Born. this will really bring the house down! woohoo!
• taylor - his third on my list. he has a great great voice but i don't like his imitating the genius ray charles. i think he can't avoid doing it anymore because he's been used to doing it hehehe. if he wins, he can't act like that! i choose Sweet Inspiration/Where You Lead. this is a bluesy type of song and it will rock with his interpretation.
• ace - this guy can sing, but i think he was selected because he could be a model hehehe. if he looked like shit he wouldn't be considered im sure. now... now... i'm turning into simon hehehe my song for him. well... i'm not sure why i'm giving him one of my most favorite barbra songs but i think it is the best suited for his voice and vocal technique... Evergreen. composed by barbra herself. i'm sure he won't kill it but i do hope he brings justice to it. hell... i'll sing it let's see who's better hahaha!
• bucky - with a country southern voice. hmm... nice attitude. i hope he doesn't get eliminated before kevin does hahahaha! for you the new Stranger in a Strange Land with modified lyrics will be a great showcase for his voice.
• kevin - kevin... kevin... acceptable voice. i'm sure he's a nice kid, but i don't like the attitude. riding on the teasing for a while is good but don't push it kid. calling yourself a sex-symbol when you look like chicken little will do you no good hehehe! it's bye bye time soon for you! but i give you a great song: Somewhere. i think he can pull this off with the right arrangement. it will be great... a difficult song that will make him... or break him
• katherine - my favorite girl. looks and talent smashed all together. beautiful... just beautiful... and! she sang a barbra song two weeks in a row! her mom's influence i presume. for her the beautiful Ordinary Miracles. i don't have any doubt she'd be able to do it.
• mandissa - great great great talent. if this girl can start loosing weight, for her own sake please... i'm sure she'll be a great star. i hope she follow patti austin's example. for her is one of my favorite songs With One More Look at You from A Star is Born. this song is bursting with emotion, it'll showcase her soaring voice.
• paris - great performer, wonderful voice. i always look forward to hearing how she'll sing the song, no hesitations whatsoever when performing. for her Lover Come Back to Me will be p-e-r-f-e-c-t.
• kellie - this is a real nice girl hehehe quite naive, but she can sing. i hope she stays long enough so someone will get her to make an album on her own, but i really don't think she's the next american idol... well that depends on america. for her, i pick Stoney End. a great song to perform and won't be too hard hahaha!
• melissa - i think she still hasn't realized she's on american idol. hmm... you have to snap out of it! i think she just needs to be taught more because her voice has potential but is not yet baked enough in the oven. but i give her one of bab's signature song Happy Days are Here Again.
• lisa - nice voice but what i don't like is her attitude. i don't know why... she seems like a nice girl but i feel she's a little plastic. i hope i'm wrong though... don't know why but i just don't like her reactions on comments by the judges whether it be good or bad. it's just like, get it over with i really don't care what you say to me... anyway... for her another signature song: The Way We Were. this is a song for her type of voice and vocal technique

just to end i'd just like to say a few things about the judges... paula, OMG, paula is like on drugs or drunk everytime, her comments are dreamy... her eyes are dreamy... well... i hope she just doesn't throw her clothes off during the live show. randy, well you go dawg! hahaha! i like him. but of course the one i like best among the judges is simon. he's non-patronizing, non-apologetic, and very direct. and although sometimes he crosses the line to being really rude, reality checks for the contestants are always good.

Fearless

there are a few movies that i would watch in the bigscreen. and it would be a more rare occassion that i would want to watch alone. but i'm a sucker for for kung-fu movies hahahaha! i just can't pass them up, so i'll play movie emperor this week.

great movie, and although the true-story is said to be not very accurate, i really don't care. there are fight scenes from the beginning to the end. the fighting was beautiful. all sorts of weapons will be seen, and i also liked that his last oponent was really honorable. this and also jet li's 'hero' are on my dvd wish-list.

lz

My Week's Top Five - XIV

i'm a contented man. this week, i finished my first level of spanish and i passed my pharmacology exam. i'm disappointed i've been lax on my review for my certification, but anyway, i'll just have to make-up then. i've talked with tina, heard few more things about the ins and outs of her life. and... i really am very calm (except for a throbing headache yesterday) and i don't know... just contented with everything (i hope i just don't die suddenly hahaha). hmm... this reminds me i should post how i want my wake (or how i don't want my wake to look). nice idea... anyway... on to my favorites for this week:

1. monay from i don't know where - i think this is my second post about this monay hehehe maybe it has metampethamine hahahaha! nice...
2. robbie williams concert at knebworth - what kind of singer wouldn't cry at this kind of response from the people. really... you couldn't see how many people turned out, it was great, i wish i could've been there
3. i don't break easily - a calm song from babs really nice...
4. A2 - i miss eating out with you guys, where are we going this summer!?
5. myth busters - more and more, this is show is getting really interesting...

what'll really be great?? - - if someone posted a comment hmmp...

windows vista

microsoft will be releasing the new windows operating system called vista. i hear there are a lot of new improvements. but of course the first months or year will be bugged up to heaven so like what i did with xp, i'll wait it out first until the system has been tested by the public.

read why windows vista won't suck...

just one lifetime

for tina, who's a smothering paste of love right now, sticky.... hahaha

at laast my heart is ready.

This time I can believe

That love has truly found me.

How sweetly love surrounds me.

You're like a glimpse of heaven,

A blessing I've received.

I'll give you my tomorrows.

But even now I can see...

Just one lifetime

Won't be enough time for us.

We need more

For all this love.

Just one lifetime

Can't be enough time for us.

We need more

For all this love.

What you have given to me

Is better but a dream.

There's no need for pretending

You're my happy ending.

So I will hold you closer

With all the love in me

And wish we had forever

For even now I can see...

Just one lifetime

Won't be enough time for us.

We need more

For all this love.

Just one lifetime

Can never be enough time.

We need more

For all this love.

I prayed my heart would lead me

To find a love somewhere.

It's taken me a lifetime

To find you waiting for me there.

Just one lifetime

Won't be enough time for us.

We need more

For all this love.

Just one lifetime

And all that's waiting for us

We want more

For all...For all this love.

- - just one lifetime by barbra streisand

appears on 'a love like ours'

written by: melissa manchester & tom snow

the country in turmoil

what can i say... i feel sick... literally... and this trouble broiling in this i don't know what kind of country is giving me all kinds of aches all over. sigh...

i must admit, i don't know a lot about politics. i don't watch local tv for allot'a reasons. the lost compelling is the headache it get listening to all the bad stuff that's happening. what i do know is that an armed conflict is never right whatever the reasons may be. it always will be a last choice for me if not entirely unavoidable. what's really getting on my nerves though, is people who are pretending to shun the idea of conflict but otherwise suddenly appear out of nowhere and douse the fire with fuel... hypocrites...

now, i don't claim sanctity but hey, neither do i deprive people of land do i? who among these politicians do you think should replace the president should she resign? who amongst those who say she should step down should have her place? she can always call a snap election and not run on it... but think about it, would that solve the crises of the country? who can? when all the while, every few months or so, with whoever is in malacañan, certain people will always feel abandoned, certain people will always claim the government abuse them, and clearly certain people will continue to use other people... people who need people, may not be the luckiest of people here. pfft...

i don't see the present president as a perfect president, and don't tell me i am a blind follower of a worthless leader. from my point of view, what is happening now is a result of our collective fault. people who lax their vigilance during the election process, and then say the process was manipulated by politicians to their advantage. people who bribe and those who accept bribes. people who forget how our forbearers sacrificed everything to give us the freedom that we apparently don't deserve. we forget... we were known for our unbreakable principles and integrity.

almost a three quarters of a century after we asked the americans to give us our freedom, we should reflect how far have we progressed from then... have we? or have we succumbed to the natural course of increasing disorder through time?

god be with us all

My Week's Top Five - XIII

i want to make this week's top five all about the songs or music i like :

1. big band! - wohoo! tan-tan-tananan new york, new york! love big band! like the closing theme of monsters inc. sung by billy crystal and randy newman hehehe just great
2. soaring ballads - siempre siempre my babsie. evergreen is a great example.
3. gospel - who can resist aretha's 'amazing grace?' really amazing. or barbra's 'on holy ground?' just hypnotizing...
4. r&b - i really like mj blige. i like her raw voice, especially when she's getting it on hehehe... i also like alicia keys' voice and her little more bluesy side of rhythm&blues
5. rock - robbie williams type rock that is. but i like green day too! and gavin de graw's chariot, i have to admit i like rock a lot hehehe

it seems i'm really eclectic.

Streisand Songs on American Idol

Barbra Streisand songs that have been covered on American Idol :

(in no particular order)

1. people - vonzell solomon, AI4
2. no more tears - diana de garmo, AI3
3. somewhere - mikalah gordon, AI4; la toya london, AI3
4. don't rain on my parade - la toya london, AI3
5. since i fell for you - katharine mcphee, AI5

there are other songs thave were sung by babs but were not her original so i didn't include it in my list

chris

random image

product of being idle for a long time... hahahaha! star is learning how to be a star ^_^

My Week's Top Five - XII

i am hearing waltz music from affar... someone's turning 18 and is probably already thinking when she'll get to have sex... pfft... or has probably done it already... anywho...

1. boiled peanuts - mm mmm mmm i think i ate a bucket
2. hopia mongo - oooohhh im getting fatter.... fatter.... and fatter...
3. marge - marge did all the talking while i typed in reply hahaha i enjoyed being mute, as i am always the one doing the talking. you can do it marge! and i feel you won't get called on your conference... i hope... god bless you and tinababe
4. green day - i like their songs
5. volunteers of the philippine red cross - i applaud them, they are again sacrificing their time, energy and effort in trying to save lives in leyte... sigh... what is going on with the earth!? so much snow in new york... la niña here... snow in san francisco... is 'the day after tomorrow' approaching?

A Valentines Post

i am a happy valentine's popsy ^_^ thank you marge, i really appreciate your wish of happiness. i am happy that this valentine's both my loves have their own lovey-doves to snuggle with hahaha enjoy yourselves, just don't do nothin' nasty, BWAHAHAHAHA! joke!

i am a very contented person as far as this moment is concerned. yes, i've told marge that of course from time to time i wonder or perhaps "fantasize" (urrgh yuck im going to puke hahahaha) how it would feel to be in a "dream-relationship." but i daresay i do not desire it at all (for the moment) hahahaha! im enjoying my freedom so much i think i will need my head to get pounded by a mallet first before i remove the force-field hehehe.

to all the lovers out there who read this blog... HEY WHY ARE YOU HERE!? shouldn't you be doing something else!? ^_^ yeehee hahaha! if it's feb 14 and if you're reading this... YOU SUCK! loko lang hahahaha... my parting message is very profound...

...GO FORTH... AND... MULTIPLY God's blessings... be a miracle (oh ha!) happy valentine's everybody

san miguel philharmonic

marge told me the san miguel philharmonic orchestra will have a free concert tonight at the shang so we attended. we sat on the floor but enjoyed the evening, they played songs from their cd including my favorite 'ikaw lang ang mamahalin' by maestro levi cilerio, pop songs by eraserheads (hehehe they were really nice) a michel legrand medley and a broadway medley -- they played a lot more including 3 encores but i can't remember the repertoire.

what really surprised me is how many people came to watch. i didn't know a lot would be interested in orchestra music. im happy about the turnout ^_^

lz

firebolt

we have a magical broom. unfortunately, you wouldn't want to touch it... what's so magical about it!? ... apparently we have a broom that can ground you hahahaha and it seems our whole kitchen is grounded!

earlier, i was about to get a laddle but when i touched it, i was shocked! my mom told me then that there must be a grounded outlet somewhere and when she tries to touch utensils and stuff she gets grounded often (a disadvantate of a lot of stainless kitchen countertops) anyway, even our kitchen broom is grounded! hahaha this is pretty funny

grammys and my performance

i watched the grammys last thursday night and some of the things i distinctly remember hahahaha :

• when u2 won for (i forgot) maybe record of the year), when the group stood up, 'we belong together' by mariah was played, hahaha bono looked suddenly straight faced, hahaha but i guess it was just the technician's nervousness (or maybe he was a mariah fan? hahahaha)
• kelly clarkson... kelly clarkson could have won a guiness world record for talking soooo fast on her second win to squeeze in everything she wanted to say... hahahaha but you go girl... very good idea... an award's ceremony will be a fast-talk contest from now on
• christina aguillera's performance -- mediocre... she coudn't reach what she should have been reaching... i was really disappointed... but i guess american audiences are easy to please they gave her and herbie a standing ovation
• mariah's performance -- she got a standing ovation, nice... acceptable... but you could just see she's not what she used to be, i must say it took all her powers to go through the two songs hehehe, she was really straining and i was already getting ready to hear her flop, but i thank God she did not, i really like her i hope she can recover her powers from the past

anyway, i also performed, well i didn't sing.. but i conducted a seminar and unfortunately i had to share the stage with another student, but anyway, i think i may have unintentionally tricked her into: me doing the better part and her doing the part where many questions will be asked... AGAIN unintentional (hehehehe) i guess me and mama mary are really best friends HAHAHAHA - - it was in general a very straightforward presentation, i hope i got a good grade

zagato-- out!

My Week's Top 5 - XI

why won't anyone post comments?? huhuhu doesn't anything of my favorites remind you of your favorites? hehehe anyway, as long as you come to read, i thank you from the bottom of my limbic system. ^_^ thank you guys, even if you are all mute (hehehe)

1. the ultimate - from coffee bean & tea leaf. mm-mm-mm. i'll waste good money if the coffee or cold-coffee is this good!
2. san miguel philharmonic orchestra - i remember i just fell in love with orchestral music when i heard this orchestra play. even the 'spaghetti song' sounded good when they played it. tonight, we're going out to listen to ?? mmm manila philharmonic i think
3. perry ellis - exquisite smell hehehe love it, thanks dad
4. green day - i enjoy this one hehehe, very unlike me but hey! im sor'ta eclectic when it comes to music, i own from bach to streisand to robbie williams to enya to whatever hehehe
5. Never has seen snow - from BS and other musical instruments. it's just impossible this is live hahaha but it is! and i don't think this performance will ever be repeated... ever... even streisand herself in her age now...

I am the Starlight

i "rediscovered" this song from Starlight Express, a broadway musical, it is lovely and the song's message is good. Ton gave me this compilation of broadway encores, and i have just listened to it again yesterday and loved a number of songs on it...

RUSTY

Starlight Express, Starlight Express...

STARLIGHT

Only you have the power within you.

Just believe in yourself -

The sea will part before you,

Stop the rain, turn the tide.

If only you use the power within you

Needn't beg the world

To turn around and help you

If you draw on what you have within you

Somewhere deep inside.

RUSTY

Starlight Express, Starlight Express

Are you real, yes or no?

Starlight Express, answer me yes.

I don't want you to go.

STARLIGHT

Rusty you're blind,

look in your mind - I'm there.

Nothing's new

The Starlight Express is no more nor less

Than you Rusty. I am you. I'm you and

STARLIGHT / RUSTY

Only you/I am the Starlight.

Have the power within you/I can achieve

Just believe in yourself/anything

The sea will part before you

Stop the rain and turn the tide/ All the things I didn't believe.

If only you/I am the Starlight.

Have the power within you/I can achieve

Just believe in yourself/anything

The sea will part before you

Stop the rain and turn the tide/ All the things I didn't believe.

If only you/I am the Starlight,

Use the power within you/I can see it throught.

Needn't beg the world to turn around and help you

If you draw on what is deep inside.

RUSTY

I won't let you down.

my back is aching

i've been in front of the computer for almost an entire week. i've been doing a presentation on geriatric pharmacology and as i'm taking advantage of my numerous free time, i have spread the work doing a lot of game breaks, internet breaks, snack brakes, nap breaks, name it, i did it (wink) hahahaha just joking ^_^

anyway, i've been progressing steadily. i've never been this proud of myself, i didn't feel fed-up with any of the work. i guess this is just the way i work... i just can't go on continuously for extended periods of time. sigh... it's unfornate the world doesn't work the way i do...

i'm already on the making cue cards and making visual-aids part, and i still got three more days to do it, i see that i'll finish just in time and have lot's of time to rest in between hehehe ^_^

the downside of this is however, i have laxed my review for my "other thing" to focus on this... well... really don't care for the moment

My Week's Top Five - X

i went back and counted my week's top five posts. i'm on number 10 now ^_^ and i'm not stopping! you're gonna hear from me! ... as always, in no particular order...

1. ref cake filled with banana - isn't it obvious!? i think the first thing that comes to my mind writing this is FOOD! hahaha
2. "...art does not exist only to entertain - but also to challenge one to think, to provoke, even to disturb, in a constant search for the truth." - Barbra Streisand from her speech in Harvard University JFK School of Government, "The Artist as Citizen" (photograph above)
3. ate ruth! ate ruth - go! go! go! CONGRATULATIONS!!! wow! have you started making a list of things to bring? hehehe save me a bed in your house hahahaha
4. sony ericsson z520i - just love it! thank's mom! wooho! imagine, quad band, BT, IR, camera for a cheap price, gotta love it
5. the parent trap - it was on star world (i think) the other night and i've watched it i think for the nth time, but i never get tired of it, just a nicey-nicey movie

lz

im getting angry...

i just felt the need to say something in the middle of the week (as if i don't have a lot to say all the time) hehehe my mom told me about another mining-environment disaster, i'm just so sad about things like this happening here. i always believe we have one of the most blessed countries environmentally. and what would it take to make our people appreciate that!? if i could only urge God to smite those government officials who don't give a damn.

what am i doing about it you ask? well, here, im speaking about it. i don't have the power to influence changes, yet. but i vow that one day, i will what i can about these things.

my heart is with the people who are affected, the whales and sealife that are being poisoned, and the unborn children who will surely be affected. I WANT THE OWNERS OF THESE COMPANIES TO BE BATHED WITH and FORCE-FED THEIR OWN MINE TAILINGS!!!!! GRRR...

hahahaha on to lighter things....

scary movie 4 spoofs fockers hehehe

lz

the saturday tradition - eh!?

i missed it hahaha well but i did a midweek favorite roll so i think i'm forgiven ^_^ thank you to all who visit me, i continue to annoy you with this favorites thingy particulary because one person said he likes reading it... ¡gracias! ^_^

1. mom's ref cake - hated the fruits but loved the cream and the graham hahaha
2. lola - my first spanish teacher, i can't understand her, she prefers not to speak english to force us to understand hahahaha but i'm loving every minute of spanish class
3. bacon mushroom melt - mm just heaven
4. with one more look at you/watch closely now - i'm raising this into my ultimate favorites list, i've posted the lyrics of this song in the past, this is just so emotional and sensual at the same time
5. my curly locks - im learning to appreciate it, and i've decided i won't have my hair relaxed anymore hahahaha and who said wavy/curly hair isn't beautiful!? we rock tina babe!

i ran into my classmate in sm manila last friday, she's already married, she was with her husband and said they already had a kid. wonderful! ^_^ but makes me feel i'm really becoming a geezer hahahaha

as if it was a day for running into people i know from the past, i ran with my former school bus driver's wife and daughter. it was wonderful seeing them, and, they paid for my fx fare hahaha thank you ^_^ they were really surprised when i showed them potsy's picture all grown up. time really passes by quickly.

lz

Happy 500th !!!

happy 500th birthday to the swiss guards!!! they celebreated their 500th year of service to the pope last jan 22. i deeply respect their loyalty to our holy father and i applaud their sacrifice ^_^

News on >> CBS Link

Welcome Pinoy's Big Brother

we're often called little brown monkeys... it seems all of us especially those pesky bigots will become monkeys in a short time hahahaha!

evidence has been gathered that chimps (genus:Pan) actually have more genetic similarity to us than was previously thought. in the recent study it's 99.4 percent. and scientists are already planning to transfer the chimps into the Homo genus. hehehe. it's been hypothesized that the chimps and us have so recently diverged from a common ancestor that we should be under the same genus.

some are saying that we're too proud, why don't we transfer ourselves to genus Pan instead hahaha what do you think?

i read about this in the regents living environment blog.
From Nat-Geo
From Guardian UK

Thank You!

thank you to all people who read this blog!!! i love y'all!!! we just passed 2000!!! and.... it wasn't me hahahahaha that makes me really happy... i just gotta say i suddenly had a midweek "my favorites" moment

1. american idol - again! terribly funny especially the bad singers, i thought i saw some pinoys
2. bistek - mmm espcially with kalamansi and patis
3. yahoo messenger - keeps with connected with robert, i love ym's emoticons hahaha
4. tony bennett unplugged - got the dvd, wonderful just pure pleasure
5. flixotide - i renewed my covenant with flixotide hahaha and i haven't sneezed for a month or two, it's just heaven

and hell just for the fun of it, i borrow from missfilipina's blog, with a little tinkering of course: 7 things...

7 things i plan to do before i die

1. meet the pope
2. publish at least 1 book
3. bungee jump
4. speak at least 5 languages
5. travel the world
6. photograph all the great churches
7. amass at least 10,000 books

7 things i can do

1. touch my toes - surprised?
2. cook
3. catch rats - hehehe
4. compose music
5. predict rain
6. make lampposts flicker or die or turn on!
7. write perfectly straight even without guides

and more to come.... hahahaha if you're not bored yet ^_^

lz

congratulations manny!!!

i just finished watching the match, this is my tribute to manny, congratulations manny, congratulations mga kababayan ko. i hope manny serve as the link that will unite all the filipinos ^_^ mabuhay ang pilipinas!

the saturday tradition

robert reminded me i had to write my favorites hehehe :

1. sinigang sa miso - mmm the foreigners will only have to look at our food tounderstand why we are a happy people... just exquisite
2. tengo que decirte algo - from gloria estefan's alma caribeña album, duet with jose feliciano, beautiful
3. sing/make your own kind of music - from bs and other musical instruments, imagine i was singing this while running on the treadmill hahaha quite funny, but i like the songs' message; this is one great attribute i love with ms. streisand, the way she chooses her songs and/or how she combines them
4. monay from a certain bakery - i don't know where my mom gets it, it's equally good with the one in intramuros i previously considered "very good monay" hahahaha
5. american idol 5? - im not sure if it's season 5, but i'm really having fun with the worthless people who are auditioning, the nerve of these people really hahaha

lz

Immortality

i was researching on geriatric pharmacology and i came across this interesting article

Extension of Life-Span by Introduction of Telomerase into Normal Human Cells

by : Andrea G. Bodnar, * Michel Ouellette, * Maria Frolkis, Shawn E. Holt, Choy-Pik Chiu, Gregg B. Morin, Calvin B. Harley, Jerry W. Shay, Serge Lichtsteiner, Woodring E. Wright

link >> http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/279/5349/349?ijkey=1c2528049c7b1cba65f062ee6dddf86a16042566

+++

congratulations to mr. hugh laurie for winning the golden globes for his role in HOUSE, M.D.

+++

i think no one wants to make a comment, fine! you lurk, i'll never know who reads my blog huhuhuhu

International Delurking Week

^_^ apparently, last week was international de-lurking week. soooooooooo..... you people out there! i know you're there. please make a comment ^_^ following ms. frizzle's excellent blog... you can choose the topic:

1. do you have a question for me? about anything?
2. if you can remember... what is your favorite post from this blog?
3. what is your favorite food? (takaw ko talaga)

The Boring Week

i guess this is the week i find it most difficult to post... because nothing happened pfft + yes, last saturday i went to tina's to celebrate her 24th <--i just had to post that didn't i hahahaha + yes, i spent relatively the whole week preparing the group's presentation for pharmacology + mmm, but nothing went on really that i guess i'd have fun to talk about + i spent it reading.... reading... reading... + i have fun reading yes but i still remember, nothing beats tina's pansit-kalamansi-rolling story for blog-worthiness story award + anyway mmm...

the favorite thing thingy hahahaha i think i'll skip this when it's a down-week, but yes i still love a lot of things ^_^

1. rain - i love the rain, i love driving in the rain with dramatic music on, and i don't feel sad! i feel light and inspired<---- yep im a freak
2. pares - by my mom... just "superrrrrbb" (i know someone's laughing)
3. marge - congratulations i hope you'll get all the happiness you deserve, this really is our year isn't it?
4. tina - ^_^ we gotta go out hehehe
5. the shoes potsy passed on to me <--- great! i love this sneakers that potsy gave me and i've been wearing them to all places i go + and even though he's still on my and mom's noty list tsk tsk tsk, i'm still grateful for the shoes, but potsy if you're reading this, you gotta grow-up a little, you gotta learn to respect your elders... (and i'm serious)

lz

The Lost Favorites

i forgot my saturday ritual ^_^ may i present... last week's favorite things :

1. Angels & Demons by Dan Brown - reread for the mmm nth time
2. EWTN - i always check when Pope Benedict's going to be on
3. Sopas - mmm gusto ko malapot
4. "Sciente tells me God must exist. My mind tells me I will never understand God. My heart tells me I'm not meant to." - - Vitorria Vetra
5. Gulaman from PLM - mmm tamis! naalala ko lang ^_^

btw, i was reading a book about obesity. and new studies reveal that exercise during the initial phase of weight loss diet-exercise program is negatively correlated with the actual weight lost. what helps loose the weight is the negative calorie balance you incur everyday. this means that exercise only contributes as much as 15% of the lost weight. eating lesser calories than your daily requirement is what makes you loose weight. HOWEVER, exercise's role is to maintain your weight. so without exercise, the lost weight will be slowly gained back.

lz

From the Barbra Bulletin ^_^

The Ultimate DVD Box From the Ultimate Entertainer Goes 5 Times Platinum in Just Over One Month! ...

BURBANK, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 01/04/2006 -- The five Barbra Streisand early career TV specials, which confirmed for critics and the public alike that she would be the music world's most legendary female entertainer for decades to come, have just gone five times platinum -- in just over one month after their release prior to Thanksgiving.

(it's a nice feeling i contributed to making it 5X platinum^_^)

Streisand & Brolin Inspire Songwriter ...

Songwriter Diane Warren told the press that the theme song to the movie "Armageddon" ("I Don't Want To Miss A Thing"), which was a hit for the group Aerosmith was inspired by Barbra Streisand! Ms. Warren said: "I saw some of the scenes, especially in the end where Bruce Willis' character dies. It was very touching. So I wrote 'I Don't Want To Miss A Thing.' I'd had the idea because I heard something that James Brolin said about Barbara Streisand, that he didn't want to go to sleep because he'd miss her. I kept that idea in my mind."

(great! i love this song... can you believe it!?)

brought to you by the barbra bulletin gods and godesses :
lynne pounder, all about barbra magazine
mark iskowitz, the barbra streisand music guide
matt howe, barbra-archives.com
paul katz

Tell me...

why do i hate going out of the house if it wasn’t absolutely necessary!?

episode one : the witch

i was going to have some pretty important documents copied so i went out to muñoz only to discover copytrade (a copy company i trusted) was closed. so i reluctantly entered this copy store which obviously is trying to imitate copytrade. i thought i should have probably got the vibes on what kind of store it was when i saw the copy ladies chatting and not doing anything productive, but i really needed those documents so… after she copied my docs i paid her a php 50.00 bill and she looked at me with these weird eyes and said that i should go out and have the money broken down. now, i’m a very kind and loving person (hahahaha), but i guess it was her tone and her manner that really ticked me off… there was this girl who i guess doesn’t even qualify to carry a conversation with me dismissing me like a piece of horsedung sticking on her sole.

well… i had the money broken… got it over with… then i dealt with the slimmy witch… (or perhaps another word that rhymes with that)

episode two : during a seminar

why is it called “an opinion!?” maybe because it is! it is our own perception of things. and think about it, don’t most things exist on a continuum, no absolutes, mostly relatives (not talking about god of course). even with a long list of criteria, you cannot define things absolutely without exception. beauty, for example is definitely relative, what is beautiful to certain tribes africa is not beautiful to europeans. so why are some people very insistent on sticking to an orthodox definition, when it is obvious that change is the driving force of the universe?

i’ll not make a big deal out of it… ^_^ i believe that one very important attribute to have is that of objectiveness… open-mindedness, being accepting. and i always try to be that… but i will also stick to my principles…

a synthesis...

i had two recent opportunities (that i remember) that made me reflect the limits of my objectivity… hehehe… well… i must say i got over it… i am surprised how more objective and open-minded i find myself than i thought i was… it’s a good thing though… (i hope) (just get it on baby! kind’a attitude) hahaha

to marge, who’s starting a new chapter… i said it a million times, i trust you all the way…
to tina, who’s on a bit of crisis… hang on… and this is just 24 what about when we’re older, so save more of that frown for later hehehe (when we can afford botox)
to robert, who’s going to start school, woohoo! kick all their asses! show them who’s their daddy (hahahaha) – why am i writing like this???

happy new year everyone!
lz

(a note: these stories occurred a few weeks ago, i did not want to ruin the happiness of the holidays ^_^)

I was reading and saw a few lines that there are studies that indicate that there is considerable neuropsychological evidence for the separation of linguistic memory from spatial, facial, bodily or musical memory (gardner, 1975). Also, the same is true with critical thinking. So while we usually consider we have a rather good memory, it may be possible that we are talking only about one domain. I find this important because I consider myself bad in memorizing words, names and other things but I’m really good with roads, places and have a keen eye for images. The implications are rather great… we cannot just focus on one domain. Training our memory to solve or for that matter evaluating critically a mathematical problem will take a very much different approach on doing the same for a piece of music. So while we envy people with so much talent on memorizing lists… we should appreciate and develop our own potential (maybe remembering a long list of how each pastry smells hmmm…)

Our Post-Christmas Christmas Party ^_^

tina, marge, and i ate out and had coffee. good thing marge has a new phone ^_^

more pictures at >> http://lordzagato.multiply.com/photos/album/45

Captures Over Christmas

pictures from christmas : top - potsy and i watched kingkong in glorietta 4 and ate jap, bottom chris, mommy and ian noche buena night ^_^

Happy New Year Everybody!

a few hours before 2006... i thank everybody who has been part of my life this year in one way or another: the people of a1 2008; the people of a1 & a2 2007; the class maximus; my new pals in ortigas who i can't even remember the names (my usual dilemma^_^); ate ruth & family; kuya anthony; my pals from angelicum; robert, marge and tina; my dad & mom, potsy and God! thank you for all the blessings this year! and although i'm crossing the years pretty sick(again for the umpteenth time), i feel soooo blessed...

i feel that the year coming will be a year of change in superaltive proportions for me... i'm excited at the same time nervous... i hope God's spirit is with me all the way... sigh... and of course! because it's saturday! it's time for!!!...

my week's 5 favorite things :

1. Phantom of the Opera (movie) - i have the dvd, just magnificent
2. Everytime You Hear Auld Lang Syne - really touching
3. Mr. John Williams - just... glorious music
4. Marshmallows
5. My new dieting technique - which i invented hehehe

lz

Merry Christmas Everybody !!!

it's Christmas Eve (well not technicaly hehehe) but i am already wishing everybody a blessed christmas. let's remember what this night represents. and it doesn't matter if we really don't believe that on this excact date Christ was born, what matters is that He was! we just lost his birth certificate and decided that a really cold month is good month to celebrate! spread the love people!

and it's saturday so... here's my week's favorite things:

1. coco jam from kuya anthony
2. the 2005 maximus medicinae christmas party
3. leoning's pinong palabok
4. christmas in the philippines

and...

5. tina & marge! merry christmas my princesses! God bless us three!

Our Christmas Party 2005

my classmate and birthday-mate tin alba hosted the class party at her parañaque house. had fun and the food was good. our subsec sponsored the food as i see it (jamie brought the food ^_^).

at long last... a complete subsec a2 (as complete as can be unfortunately) ^_^ - - chris, gelo, jamie, vina, ice, ivy, keech, steff, tin, aids, benrub, philip, ton, jet, joan, cha, aileen, marose, mean, ryan, and yaps

Readings on Motivation

i'd like to share a few things i've been reading, some people may know directly what i'm implying, for others, you may be able to use the new knowledge ^_^ these are researches on motivation and goal orientation :

"achievement motivation research initially established that effort and persistence on achievement tasks are greater in people who set goals of moderate difficulty(neither too hard nor too easy for their current abilities), who seriously commit themselves to pursuing these goals rather than treat them as mere "pie-in-the-sky" hopes, and who concentrate on trying to achieve success rather than on trying to avoid failure (Dweck & Elliott, 1983)"

"Effort and persistence are greater when people perceive a continuing connection between the level of effort they invest in a task and the level of mastery that they achieve (Cooper, 1979)"

"Effort and persistence are greater when people believe that the potential to control outcomes (e.g., achieve success on the task) lies within themselves rather than in external factors that they cannot control (Stipek & Weisz, 1981; Thomas, 1980)"

"Effort and persistence are greater when people believe that they can bring about desired outcomes through their own actions (act as origins) rather than feeling that they are pawns whose fate is determined by factors beyond their control (deCharms, 1976)"

no wonder... ^_^

lz

My Week's Top Five

1. i'm in the mood for love - the movie album
2. barbra streisand... and other musical instruments
3. cassava from white thumb ^_^
4. biology! hahaha
5. charlize theron

Nobody Taught Us How to Study

looking back, i'm quite disappointed studying skills were not taught to us as students. i realized, i, and i think most of my classmates never learned these skills through our teachers and we're left alone to discover how assimilation of knowledge takes place.

im beginning to think this is the reason why i have difficulty memorizing. well it's not that i can't memorize, but i'd rather avoid it altogether if i can (y'know what i mean) ^_^ my most effective way of doing it is: typing it in the computer in a big font maybe size 24 at 150% reading it aloud while i type it and then doing it again and again. i believe that when more senses are working to accomplish remembering something, it would be easier to recall. this way, i am using my tactile(keyboard) sense, hearing, and seeing it as well. you can say i'm still working on how to smell it hehehe.

well anyway, memorization is so low in the cognitive ladder its obvious it's not an good way of learning. no wonder there are many people who are good at remembering stuff but can't put it all together. this requires higher order thinking. the cognitive ladder from lowest to highest : knowledge(part of which is memorization), comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. so if you have exams/professors whose questions are application, that's good, it's more challenging and starts to require you to use higher order thinking.

how has my studying skills evolved? well they're better that's all i can say. i am more efficient than when i was starting college. i can say i have developed more ways to motivate myself to study without a threat of test. i can even say i am ENJOYING staying up late for something ^_^ for those who know me... surprising yeah! hahaha Medicine sort of jump-started me, forced me to make study skills for myself... sigh... only through continuous challenges can we keep on improving. i've read that for people to get motivated to do something, the task must be appropriate in difficulty(we have to think that at we have at least 50% chance of success) and the reward we are going to recieve at the end must be something appealing to us(passing is appealing). it's true... stuff from research they can be creepingly true... i have been reading on motivation and you'd be surprised that some are so... "that's common sense" but seeing people study this and write about it makes us realize that some of this concepts are universal and can be applied to help other people get motivated to study and do stuff. i know i'm already blabbering here so i'll share more as i learn more ^_^

lz

My Week's Top Five

1. My Streisand Specials DVD Set
2. Longanisang Ilocos
3. Gavin De Graw's More than Anyone
4. American Chopper
5. Naruto

Great Great Gift!

i recieved my Streisand Specials yesterday and watched 3 of the 5 specials :

1. My Name is Barbra April 1965
2. Color Me Barbra March 1966
3. The Belle of 14th Street October 1967
4. A Happening in Central Park Spetember 1968
5. Barbra Streisand ... and Other Musical Instruments November 1973

this is just barbra at her best, pure and crystalline voice, you don't even know when she's breathing, it's just like one endless note :-)

lz

Meg's Debut

we attended meg's debut tonight. potsy was part of the 18 princes(18 roses) and mom the 18 treasures. me... i think i tasted almost all parts of the buffet, specially liked the maki, the chicken fillet and the fish fillet ^_^

lz

Last Night *edited*

i stumbled on a bbc interview which i don't know why, made me watch it... and in a few more moments... i was already glued. this guy from bbc (i forgot his name) was interviewing a man called jean-marie la pen, a man from the french legislative i think, and oh my god, i never hated a living man like this, i thought i was seeing the spawn of hitler alive!

this man was totally blaming ALL (yes, ALL) of france's problems to the immigrants(this is in line of the recent french street riots). he said that even immigrant's children born in france (and therefore are by birth-right french) was also part of the problem. he said he'd do everything to get get rid of these people! ...oh! don't get him wrong he says... "i have a black employee..." "i have other foreign employees..." "i am for intergration... but in small numbers..." "i am not an internationalist, i'm just nationalistic..." NATIONALISTIC!? F*CK YOU!! grrr...

it was very apparent that the bbc guy was starting to get irritated and was already making ways for him to say directly he hates these people... and la pen doesn't even seem to notice it... he's so preoccupied of thinking that what he's saying is right and good for his people and that they understand him. and this stupid guy bullshits all the bbc guys research about statistics on immigrants saying that the research is real bullshit when it was the french government itself that issued these figures.

hehehe... i remember the bbc guy saying... "so... you're saying these figures your goverment released are wrong and you're basing your statement on what you see on the streets everyday?" this was after the man was saying that "just look in the trains there are a lot more immigrants here" because the bbc guy was saying that in germany there is a higher ratio of immigrants vs. endemic people but there are no riots in germany. sigh... i really am disappointed there are still people in the world like this. and to think... this guy is thinking of running again for presidency in 2007(he lost to Chirac last presidential elections).

ANYWAY... i am enjoying watching HBO's rome and just noticed there are so much penis things in this TV Series-movie. penis graffiti on walls, showing real penises, on-stage dramas with penises hehehehe... i looked it up and it seems romans are really "in" to penises hehehehe... they view it as a symbol of power etc...

Another Friday

this was a really good friday. got to go break bread with my friends from a2 (though i didn't eat).

i watched harry potter and the goblet of fire on opening day. i thought it was better than azkaban. my only disappointment? it's too short for me, a lot of interesting things from the book were not included

oh! i bought my star wars episode iii dvd and have watched the yoda vs. sidious scene an endless number of times. reading from forums, many things were said about this duel which i think is really more interesting than obi-wan vs. anakin.

hmm... the emperor stronger than yoda? i think not, he had his advantages especially that he had an opposable thumb hahahaha but really yoda's real defeat was that he gave up when he lost his lightsaber. though i don't think he'd prefer any other method killing the emperor. i don't think he'd use force lightning even if he did know how to use it. during the last few moments of their force lightning resistance-battle you can see that master yoda was winning and sidious worried. but as i said... opposable thumb... hehehe

Star

looks like a mouse-deer ^_^

we have a new baby!

beautiful 1 month old japanese spitz of pure stock. we named her "STAR" ^_^ here she is nuzzling my tummy hehehe

Lame choices - -kind'a funny...

i tried a mock exam on bio and i found these choices... rather lame

why are large mammals sucessful in the grassland biome?
a) because they create their own shadow - - pfft! pretty lame huh

taxonomists...
a) work for the IRS - - haha im just oozing of sarcasm, was this supposed to be a joke!?

NEWphylum porifera(sponges) is appropriately named because...
a) they are not very rich - i don't understand why the exam has these choices ??

lz

Bacteria.... our ancestors

the endosymbiotic theory states that the origin of the eukaryotic organelles are symbiont bacteria which have been engulfed into other larger cells. this was trivial at first fueled by some observations. however, in the past few decades, it is surprising that evidences are accumulating providing evidence for this controversial theory:

a) mitochondria and chloroplasts have their own genetic material different from the information from the nucleus
b) mitochondria and chloroplasts divide in a similar manner as bacteria
c) mitochondria, chloroplasts, the nucleus, and the endomembrane system have double membrane systems the outer of which is similar to the cell membrane and inner more similar in make-up with prokaryotes
d) mitochondria and chloroplasts have 70s ribosomes, bacteria have 70s ribosomes. the ribosomes used by the cells are 80s

recently... centrioles have been found to contain small amounts of DNA. these were suggested as remnants of their origin.

what do you think?

Understanding - - then imparting

I admit, this is the thing that gives me that happy feeling inside hahahaha : understanding insanely unreadable stuff and then shedding light on it… reading stuff like gene regulation(which I ignored in college), I have to rest every paragraph just to give my brain breathing time hahaha sigh… I hope I do well doing imparting these stuff, I know it would be difficult, my paradigm-shift ‘ika nga, but I know I’ll emerge victorious ^_^
lz

Lessons to be learned…

I remembered the song I posted a while back… now… I send its message to a friend :

“there’s a universal plan for every woman, every man…”
“ there are reasons for the path we take”
“there are no mistakes, just lessons to be learned”

I’ve learned so much with all the things I’ve experienced, i hope you do too with yours ^_^

DNA methylation, parthenogenesis and hermaphrodism

Have you ever thought why there are no true mammal hermaphrodites or why mammals or vertebrates for that matter cannot reproduce parthenogenetically?

Today, reviewing gene regulation in eukaryotes, I’ve come to understand few basic principles which govern these events.

I’ve always thought that the only thing fertilization accomplishes is returning the number of chromosomes to the diploid number (2n). therefore, I also thought that if these was the case then, a zygote can be formed from a container and two egg cell nuclei or two sperm nuclei because it satisfies the requirement for the diploid number.

Apparently, it is not possible(as of the moment)because of an occurrence called DNA methylation. Cytosine residues in vitro are occasionally methylated and this determines whether a certain gene will be actively transcribed, repressed or do other functions. Now, the methylation pattern is usually preserved in the chromosomes you inherit from your mother and father. Remember that you have two sets of chromosomes, one from your mother and one from your father. Some genes are active only on one of the chromosomes… how is it determined which chromosome does the job? Is it the paternal of maternal chromosome? Some processes have an inherent order, for example, the gene for the enzyme ILGF-II (insulin like growth factor-II) is paternally unmethylated and maternally methylated. And in this case methylation serves as a negative regulator. Therefore, all your ILGF-II principally comes from your father.

The understanding of the principles which govern the pattern and inheritance of the methylation pattern is not yet fully understood. But this leads us to the point of my exhausting story, two egg nuclei thefore cannot be used to produce a zygote because the chromosomes have the same methylation pattern and in turn many of the genes will not function normally.

God is saying… "don’t mess with me, I’ve planned ahead" ^_^

Terms for the layman :
Parthenogenesis – zygotes develop without fertilization
Diploid – bearing two copies of chromosomes, humans have a diploid number(46 chromosomes in all), plants can be polyploid meaning they can have more than two sets, fungi and lower animals are usually monoploid/haploid
Cytosine – one of the four nucleotides which make up the genetic code
Methylated – a methyl group (-CH3) is attached to the molecule as a side-chain

Happy Christmas! Part II

since i got great reviews from my take on "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," i've decided to do one of my favorite melodies...

widely believed to be composed by Henry VIII(1491-1547), Greensleeves is a traditional english folk song and the following is my take on it. this is my arrangement and i've added the intro, ending and interludes. robert said there's a christmas lyric for this tune and i've yet to see it, i've always liked its medieval sound. pardon my mistakes and i hope you enjoy it.

Playing : Greensleeves (LZ on Piano) Download

Happy Christmas!

i'm really looking forward to this christmas ^_^ for one jasper's(my car) going to be fixed and i can drive around again haha! sigh... and this maybe my last christmas here ^_^ if lady luck's on my side ^_^

'twas a lazy day so i thought i'd record a christmas song for all of you ^_^ just ignore my mistakes hehehe! raindrops for my effort!

Playing : Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas (LZ on Piano) Download

Finally...

"He that loveth not, knoweth not

God - for God is love."

-- I John 4:8

finally... i've come to read Acts of Faith by Erich Segal. great story... sigh...

a wonderful day yesterday was even though tiring the least, walking in full stride from the train station to my building and then back, standing in the jampacked train then walking again, well it was worth it, i spent the day with my wonderful women (ha!) even though i had to endure a filipino movie (yes ^_^) even though afterwards i can't stop talking about how very unfortunate everybody's situation was (hehe) at least i felt satisfied we kept on disturbing everybody around us (as we usually do)

sigh... anyway... thank you marge for making me read this book, this just added more fuel for a certain hmmm.... pothole that's been in my life (otherwise very complete and satisfying for that matter) that i certainly don't wish to fill anytime soon, sigh... if all goes well (HAHAHA) margie, i vow! i won't be the first one of us to succumb to the lure of the son of Aphrodite

you go girl!

woohoo, i just learned from my highschool yahoogroup-mate that we won the miss international 2005 beauty contest and i was just so proud when i read how she answered her question :

Q: "what do you say to the people of the world who have typecastedfilipinos as nannies?"

A: "i take no offence on being typecasted as a nanny. But i do takeoffence that the educated people of the world have somehow denegratedthe true sense and meaning of what a nanny is. let me tell you what sheis. she is someone who gives more than she takes. She is someone youtrust to look after the very people most precious to you- your child, the elderly, yourself. she is the one who has made aliving out of caring and loving other people. so to those who havetypecasted us as nannies, thank you.it is a testament to the loving and caring culture of the Filipinopeople.and for that,i am forever proud and grateful of my roots and culture."

GREAT ANSWER! YOU GO GIRL! i've never been this proud being a filipino ^_^

^_^ by the powers vested upon me by the great godess ishtar i hereby declare Precious Lara Quigaman an honorary degree from the Ishtar Institute ^_^ HA!

"Blag!" Reloaded

pfft... these kids are.... i don't know... tsk tsk tsk... tell me roberto how do you pronounce "blog?" i got these from urbandictionary.com

american male pronouncing "blog" >> http://www.urbandictionary.com/listen.php?word=blog&skip=1

a "bugging" question

yesterday, on the jeepney as i was on my way home i observed an event which in this case (and for the umpteenth time) stimulated my curiosity.

really... i don't know how to explain this and i really want to know if someone knows how to.

i saw these fruitflies hovering near the trashcan in the jeepney. and curiously they remain hovering over the same spot in the jeepney even though the jeep accelerates, deccelerates, stops suddenly or whatever. you may not understand but try to recall some of your physics ^_^ isn't it that an object on the jeepney (let's take me as an example) will be subjected to newton's law of inertia which means that if the jeep suddenly stops i continue moving forward, hence, i might have to hold on to avoid me being thrown out of my seat. and this if i may remind you is because "i am ON to the jeep." another example would be on the elevator, you feel the inertia when it stops right!? now, my point here is: i move with the jeep because i am attached to it. ok.

now these fruitflies in the jeep and mosquitoes i saw in the train in the past are NOT ATTACHED to the vehicles but rather are flying, hovering, floating over them and not in any way attached to the jeep, how is it that they maintain their position when it is very obvious that they should be left behind as the moving vehicle moves forward. we can conduct a simple experiment: bounce a jackstone ball on table, now as the jackstone leaves the surface, push the table and what happens? the jackstone bounces back on a spot considerably far from its point of origin.

you can say that the fruitflies and the jackstone have rather different characteristics, one is living and the other is inanimate, but still both are subject to the laws of physics right!?

my question here is: ARE THE FRUITFLIES ACTIVELY FLYING WITH THE JEEP CONTINUOUSLY MONITORING THE CHANGES IN SPEED & DIRECTION!?

if they are, i'd be rather surprised because it gives them a rather high level of sophistication.

i've recieved insult from this question from my college physics professor, perhaps because he just doesn't know how to answer it, and still my questions remains unanswered... i will not rest until it is.

lz ^_^

La Naval de Manila 2005 Festivities

Everything went well, very beautiful as usual, i uploaded some pictures, if you want some desktop sized res images, just email me ^_^

Dominican Saints

I've added some of the pictures i took during the La Naval de Manila Festivities, if you are looking for more Dominican Saints or higher resolution versions of these images, email me (lordzagato@chrisalipio.com)
San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila - first Filipino Saint; Martyr

Santo Domingo de Guzman - founder of the Order of Preachers

The Actual Feast Day

the actual feast day of the lady of the most holy rosary is today october 7, so the beautiful statue of the la naval de manila was brought down from the baldachin to be venerated. i didn't have a camera since i arrived late (from school) but anyway it was still moving to see people almost killing each other to get to the altar.

Private Joke ^_^

I'm sure the godess understands hahahahaha!

Crimson Sky

crimson sky taken in my backyard last year june 29, my bro's birthday ^_^ very beautiful

Blag!?

in light of my brother's query and to prove my point, i researched it on the net and indeed! i am right "Blog" a combination of two words "Web Log" is pronounced rhyming with "Dog" or "Blob." Common mistakes reading it "Bee-Log" (totally absurd) and now as my brother says to me "Blag." Is that an attempt to have a slang!? just totally wrong...

new terms related to blogging :
blogger - people who blog
blogosphere/blogdom/blogworld - realm of blogging
vlog - video blog
phlog - photo blog
blogorrhea - tendency to fill blog with too much trivial information (like what is happening now, pfft)
blogroll - part of blog showing links to other blogs

resources :
www.askoxford.com
http://www.andreas.com/faq-blog.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog