This is one classic example of “damn if you do, damn if you don’t.” No matter what you do, you can’t please everyone! Just because you’re President, doesn’t mean you can’t eat hotdogs from a vendor anymore! What’s so wrong about a “President” eating hotdog on a side street? I say Yay!! Kudos to you, Pres Noy! It shows you can be president of a country and still act just like the rest of us! I don’t believe for a minute that you did this for “show.” You’ve lived a long time in Boston, MA where I am from. I frequent New York and a stop at the world famous New York Sabrett hotdog stand is a must!!

“Ask any New Yorker, “What’s a Sabrett®?” and they will quickly answer “The best tasting hot dog in the world!” In New York, you don’t even have to say Sabrett® and hot dog in the same sentence because the two are synonymous!”

One simply can’t visit New York without trying at least one hotdog from any vendor!

Criticism over Philippine leader’s NY hotdog binge

MANILA (AFP) – President Benigno Aquino’s spokesman on Friday defended the Philippine leader’s culinary tastes after newspapers showed him eating hotdogs in New York, where he attended a UN summit.

The 50-year-old bachelor came in for heavy criticism on social networking websites for his street-side food trips.

“Two views here — not presidential or down-to-earth. He loves to eat hotdogs. When in the US you would like to try the hotdogs,” his spokesman Edwin Lacierda told reporters.

“That was not scripted. He was looking forward to it.”

Aquino, who comes from a wealthy family, has sought to portray himself as the opposite of predecessor Gloria Arroyo, once criticised for treating her entourage to a 20,000-dollar meal at the famous New York restaurant Le Cirque.

Aquino had pledged to be frugal in his ongoing US visit, his first foreign trip as leader, bringing only a small delegation with him.

But visitors on Aquino’s popular Facebook account begged to differ.

“Do we really need this?,” wrote one anonymous commentator.

“What if the food is poisoned?”

Lacierda said Aquino spent 54 dollars to treat himself and members of his cabinet — as well as Filipino reporters — to hotdogs, while stressing that the president has also since gone to a steak house and eaten pasta.

via Yahoo News

NEW YORK CITY – President Benigno Simeon Aquino III, Vietnam President Nguyen Minh Triet and US President Barack Obama in a press conference at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on Friday (Saturday in Manila). The leaders discussed points of cooperation and agreement between the United States and the member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). President Aquino serves as the coordinator of the summit as the Philippines is the current Country Coordinator for the ASEAN-US Dialogue relations for 2009-2012. (Photo by: /Malacañang Photo Bureau)

MANILA, Philippines – The U.S. government said Sunday it made an “honest mistake” when it displayed an inverted Philippine flag — which wrongfully signified that the Southeast Asian nation was in a state of war — in a meeting hosted by President Barack Obama.

The Philippine flag was displayed upside down behind President Benigno Aquino III when leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations met Obama in New York on Friday.

“This was an honest mistake,” U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Rebecca Thompson said in a statement, adding, “the U.S. treasures its close relationship and close partnership with the Philippines.”

The American embassy will find out how the “unfortunate” incident happened, she said.

Philippine foreign affairs department spokesman Ed Malaya said the government understood that it was “an honest error” that “should not detract from the true significance of the summit, which showed the unprecedented cooperation between the ASEAN and the U.S.”

It was not immediately clear who pointed out the mistake. A photograph of Aquino sitting beside Obama with the inverted flag behind them was displayed on a government website Sunday but its caption did not point out the error.

During the summit, Obama discussed ways of bolstering economic ties between the U.S. and Southeast Asia as well as Asian regional concerns such as territorial disputes in the South China Sea and Nov. 7 elections in military-ruled Myanmar.

via Yahoo News

My two cents:

It is ludicrous to say that this carelessness is a reflection of Obama or the US but you’d think in a convergence of political leaders among nations, with the US as host- someone would put in some attention to detail considering there are only ten, TEN flags to think about!! The ten-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

This inadvertent oversight of an upside down flag is another way of showing to us, Filipinos that perhaps we are really but insignificant – a speck. The United States may have forgotten that we have been ‘friends’ with them dating back over a hundred years when the Spanish government ceded the Philippines to the US in 1898. That depending on which side we’re on, seeing the US as either a friend or an ally- there is one certainty- there still lies among Filipinos a strong leaning towards embracing American ideals and looking up to their standards. Then they falter to something as minor (to an outsider) as inverting our country’s flag, YET have symbolic meanings (to Filipinos!).

To a non-Filipino, this Yahoo breaking news may come off as ‘big deal, why is this front page news?’ or ‘who cares?’ but wait till it happens to their own flag and it’s a different story. Nevertheless, at the end of the day, what is there really to say but “sorry, it was an honest mistake;”  and everyone moves on and forgets the story and there will be other breaking news the next day…

This is a sad night.

To borrow my younger sister Facebook status after her Calculus finals: “i’m just going to lock myself in my room and cry myself to sleep now ”

Relive Alexie’s short run on SYTYCD in videos here.

Good night.

You’re just too good to be true.
Can’t take my eyes off you.
You’d be like Heaven to touch.
I wanna hold you so much.
At long last love has arrived
And I thank God I’m alive.
You’re just too good to be true.
Can’t take my eyes off you.

After watching a rerun of “10 Things I hate about you” last night- the classic 90′s teen movie that I’ve seen four times starring (the late) Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles -that is my current LSS.

Whoever coined the term LSS was clever. Amazing how more and more words and phrases are added in the English language over the years that never existed say 30 years ago. What’s more amazing is how fast it is spread around the world even before the Internet surge, so quick that over time it becomes part of everyday conversations and urban language. How does it get so widespread?

I’ve heard of LSS or the “last song syndrome” years ago yet before the phrase had a name we all have experienced it on occasion or for most people like me- on a regular basis! Last song syndrome is not a serious ailment; it is merely a complaint over a last song heard whereby the song is ‘trapped’ in our heads and we have difficulty erasing it so we end up singing, whistling or humming it over our heads or quite audibly over and over until we are so sick of the song and or the people around us are ready to zip our mouths with duct tape if we don’t stop.

We catch the LSS just about anywhere we go, while driving and listening to the radio; getting out of the supermarket, at work, from a concert, from watching television, even from another person. Wherever it is, it is the last song we hear and seems to be embedded in our brains at the time that we had to sing it. Don’t you hate it when cheesy commercial jingles get stuck though after turning the TV off and you’re going to bed? It is annoying having to sing it in our heads before dozing off and worse, it is still there when we wake up.

I must say it could get contagious at times. You hear the other person’s LSS and next thing you know, you’re singing it too!

Pardon the way that I stare.
There’s nothing else to compare.
The sight of you leaves me weak.
There are no words left to speak,
But if you feel like I feel,
Please let me know that it’s real.
You’re just too good to be true.
Can’t take my eyes off you.

Just how do we get rid of it?

I love you, baby,
And if it’s quite alright,
I need you, baby,
To warm a lonely night.
I love you, baby.

I read from Real Simple Magazine that the best way to snap out of it is to sing the song in its entirety or listen to the whole song again, to achieve completion. “If you can’t remember all the words or how it ends, rewrite the ending. Sometimes appending a Beethoven coda or even just ‘Shave and a haircut, two bits’ will do the trick,” says James Kellaris, Ph.D., a professor of Marketing at the University of Cincinnati, who studies why catchy tunes- called “earworms” – stick in your head.

Make something up and just finish the stupid song. If you still can’t , replace it with another song in your head. Listening to classical music, unfamiliar tunes or music without lyrics usually helps too.

Sometimes all those works for me, sometimes it doesn’t. If all else fails, you’re on your own because the thing is sometimes I simply enjoy singing my LSS! Like now. How do you deal with LSS?

Oh, pretty baby,
Don’t bring me down, I pray.
Oh, pretty baby, now that I found you, stay
And let me love you, baby.
Let me love you.

Good luck erasing my LSS! “Can’t take my Eyes off you” from the brilliant Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe who wrote the song in 1967 and popularized by the equally talented Frankie Valli, and has been covered by a good number of singers all over the world- my LSS is now passed on to you…

UPDATE: Karla is SAFE but Jonathan has been eliminated (rightfully, might I add- Sorry Jonathan…) from the competition. My ‘prediction’ was right; the judges kept Karla and let Asuka and Jonathan go.

A new partnering emerge with Karla paired now with Vitolio Jeune. This is kind of an odd combination. Karla and Vitolio both have been in the bottom three twice. That’s not exactly good track record however it could work in their favor. As new partners they could just come out there strong and kill the dance for next week. There is the element of surprise on what the two can do on stage. Here’s hoping that they would make that chemistry and connection work fast or at least ‘fake it’ it really well initially until they get comfortable working together.

Good luck Karla and Vitolio! Don’t scare us again like that Karla… Not sure what Nigel was talking about with your solo. It was beautiful and strong, not desperate as he claims. Check out Karla, Jonathan and Vitolio’s Solos here.

Uh oh. So you Think You can Dance couple Jonathan Platero and Karla Garcia may find themselves in the bottom three the second time with tonight’s hiphop routine. Sure, it is with reason. After seeing all eight couples dance and rank them from great to bad, Karla and Jonathan’s performance was weak. However, I thought Asuka and Vitolio’s Jazz dance were the weakest and Philip and Jeanine’s Broadway routine were weaker or vice versa. That still puts Karla and Jonathan in the bottom three but ahead of the two couples mentioned.

I could blame the choreographer for a boring, super smooth hiphop with very little ‘storyline’ to work with. Sorry Dave Scott, it isn’t so much as the dancer’s fault but has greatly to do with you as their choreographer as well. What wins votes are smooth hiphop with compelling stories and memorable songs in them. Chelsie and Mark’s “Bleeding Love” and Joshua and Katee’s “No Air” from last season especially comes to mind. I don’t even know the hiphop track “By My Side” from Karla and Jonathan’s performance tonight even though it is from Neyo.

I could also blame the supposed ‘luck of the draw.’ Every week, each couple dances a routine randomly drawn from a hat. If you wiki it and check season to season, dance to dance (visit main article per season), Hiphop and ballroom have been the kiss of death on this show dancing as a pair. Picking a contemporary routine for any couple is a dream. No couple have ever been in the bottom from dancing Contemporary. You can’t pick contemporary every week of course but I’m just wondering what are really the odds of the couple getting new dance style every week of the performance night versus getting two consecutive contemporary routine for example- for 2 weeks.

My conspiracy theory is the “drawing” is staged so that the dancers never have to repeat a specific dance style the following week. C’mon, each couple- and there’s only 10 of them and now down to 8 -have each danced different styles for the last three weeks, how lucky or unlucky of them to pick a new routine every week if the hat isn’t already pre-set to the dancers picking the dance. The producers already decide what these dancers will dance for that week and all that’s there on the hat are the very styles the producers want for them to dance. Isn’t that convenient? Of course, this is just my unwarranted presumptions. Who knows what goes on in the show when the camera is off?

In this current season, we’ve seen the first couple eliminated doing hiphop and the second girl also from doing hiphop. Each week, the couple/s who have done hiphop find themselves in the bottom of the pack.

This is truly sad but I must say I think Jonathan is also the culprit. He is pulling Karla down. I thought initially Karla and him are going to be great as partners! On their first dance as a couple doing the Cha-cha- the judges have pointed out some weaknesses on Jonathan, not on Karla. They were in the bottom three. On the second dance, he got lucky they got contemporary which was Karla’s forte. They were amazing and were safe from eliminations. Now on their third dance, hiphop- Jonathan wasn’t doing his share of the dancing as a couple and the judges picked on him. If the audience do listen to the judges, they’re doomed. I hope the audience make their own judgment.

Judges Comments

What bothers me is the judges’ critiques specifically that of Nigel Lythgoe’s. He is the Simon Cowell of So You Think You can Dance as Piers Morgan is in America’s Got Talent and he’s known as being “Nasty Nigel.” Any rhetorics or punches from him is almost expected week after week. However, if he keeps up with that the least he can do is be fair when firing the meanness to those who really sucked!

Karla and Jonathan weren’t the worst dancers of the evening yet they were the only couple Nigel was mean to. Perhaps being the first performers of the evening really is a great disadvantage. They get the first beating and by the time the two-hour show ends, people might have forgotten about the first couple who performed. So Karla and Jonathan were first and Nigel’s ‘attack’ on the pair doesn’t help at all.

This was how he critiqued Karla and Jonathan:

“It (the dance) feels like it’s been sort of ironed out. There’s no excitement in the routine. The one great thing for me with hiphop is fear… what are they gonna do, what’s gonna happen? There’s no danger in it…”

More blabber from Nigel with lots of gesturing and facial disgust. Asks Jonathan if he was comfortable doing the routine. Jonathan answers, “actually, today I did.”

“All right, I can’t forgive you then, because you had no contact with your partner. If you’d been worried about yourself, I could have forgiven you.” Nigel responds.

I didn’t know Nigel could have that power to forgive (or not) in the show.

Nigel continues: “That wasn’t good enough either in style or anything else you did tonight. For me, that wasn’t gangster, it was more like a Sunday school picnic outing.”

Audience boos.

Nigel: “You can boo as much as you like, I bet you they’re going to be in the bottom three. Wanna take bets? I’ll take bets with you. It wasn’t good enough.” Looking really confrontational.

Oh so now he scolds and offends the audience- the very audience who make the show number one!

He continues to ramble until host Cat Deeley says; “Someone got up at the wrong side of the bed this morning…”

Judge Mary Murphy and Toni Basil were ‘kinder in their criticisms even though they still rat on Jonathan and Karla who were keeping their poise and grace from the rough comments they have received. So sorry to see that.

I think Jonathan Platero is great at what he does, he wouldn’t be in the Top 20 otherwise. However, the partnering isn’t working for him and Karla. His pretty face can only get him into the top 20, the rest of the way he has to deliver the powerful dances! I voted for the couple extra tonight, like 100 times or so! Seriously. Many including I would truly be upset if Karla goes home tomorrow because of a weak partner. Let Jonathan go home if he has to go but if I were one of the judges (I Know, I’m not…), I will keep Karla and let Asuka go.

PLEASE AMERICA, PROVE NIGEL LYTHGOE WRONG!

For the complete performance video with judges comments and introduction, click here.

Please say hi and introduce yourself if you are one on the cool Karla fans with the signs!

Hey, Karla is wearing a Manny Pacquiao Shirt!!

Ok I watch American Idol. I wasn’t one to admit unless you’re family or a close friend because I didn’t want to get teased. But I already “outed” myself in a previous post some time ago, so there.

I previously wrote:

… I won’t even talk about it or join in conversation because according to some, reasonable (duh!) and cultured (gimme a break!) adults find reality TV shows (in general)

a.) an insult to one’s intellect, b.) a complete embarrassment for the contestant who would do anything and compromise everything he/she stands for just to have fame and fortune! c.) a manipulation of TV networks to play with human nature and expose it to millions of viewers and earn big bucks while at it! d.) just a way of making easy money for tv networks and its contestants and e.) just for kids or for brainless people or for couch potatoes.

Am I reasonable? Am I cultured? I was trying to fit in that mold but thinking about it now- I don’t give a crap! If an average of 40 million Americans vote and watch the show week after week and if millions around the world catch the show on cable, I don’t think that’s stupidity, maybe (a little) madness but can’t call us brainless!

I call it one of my “guilty pleasures,” although I skipped Season 6 and 7, didn’t watch it! All because I was turned off at what America or if I am to believe my own conspiracy theory (that the show is somehow “rigged”- like the producers get to decide in the end who they want to win)- what they did to Chris Daughtry!! But like I said in the article, it was better that he didn’t win it. Daughtry’s bigger than big now!

It is American Idol season in America and the whole world is watching via cable! The undisputed number one hit show premiered its eight season on January 13 and 14 with a 4-hour extravaganza of people and places, presenting thousands of Idol hopefuls and the four witches of Eastwick or the four stooges plus one- your choice. They are known in Hollywood as Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, Simon Cowell, the new addition-Kara DioGuardi and Ryan Seacrest.

I decided this year after missing the hype for two years, I could check it out again… I’m crazy with the number 8 and it’s the 8th season of American Idol! Shallow excuse to watch a show, huh.

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We bought this 3 feet tall Philippine eagle woodwork in Baguio City, Philippines 5 years ago. This beautiful work of art was carved using only one piece of wood- no glues or seals. The cost? After haggling with the woodcarver, $12!! We thought we were stealing it for the price. What a bargain! This size and kind of work in the US would cost hundreds of dollars!

Well, I was about to find out- this particular find wasn’t such a bargain after all when I decided to flew it with me from the Philippines to the United States! The airline wouldn’t take it at first because it was considered oversized and they said they had no more room for the box (We were at the airport kind of late). I insisted and they gave me a price- a whooping $150.00!! What was I to do? I have placed some of my personal effects along with the eagle on the already sealed box. We didn’t have time to sort it and so I was forced to pay the full amount… If I try to justify it, it is really still cheap compared to how much it costs for something like this here in the US.

However as though that wasn’t enough, the eagle didn’t really have a pleasant 13 hour plane ride as it was probably being thrown around the baggage compartment. The result? the now $162.00 eagle was chipped on its wings and base!! I brought it all way just to be chipped!

So that’s my eagle story right there- chipped and all.

Find more photo hunters at PhotoHunt

I have been feeling the Winter blues for the past two weeks. When you’re thousands of miles away from family and relatives, you can’t help it. Everything seems forced- a smile, the energy to go out in the cold, greeting people- it’s hard when deep down, you wished you were somewhere else…

It didn’t help that Boston had it’s first annual snowstorm last weekend where it snowed for three days! Probably a total of 18 inches of snow after it was over. It is going to be a White Christmas as promised as it has been every year in the east coast. I had a little fun in the snow which was good and I found some more cheering up while I was shopping online at Gap.com.

I’ve loved the Gap store ever since I can remember and its sister companies: Old Navy, Banana Republic and its latest addition Piperlime- its online specialty shoe and bag shop. I could visit these stores every week even just to window shop (in this case, I don’t always leave empty handed- can’t resist the SALE SECTION!) I would endorse it happily for free any chance I get!

They always come up with the most trendy TV commercials and print ads and Gap has ventured into Music Videos of late. Here’s this year’s Holiday carols with an all-star cast from Selma Blair, Rainn Wilson, Freddy Rodriguez, Romano Malco, Jason Biggs, Jon Heder, Janelle Monae, Flo Rida, Trey Songs and Sandra Barnhard to The Dixie Chicks. They are all wearing the Gap clothing of course!

Please click more to view the videos. I’m sorry to note that the videos auto play. Please adjust your sound volume appropriately. Thanks!

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The current global economic crisis is a chain of events, primarily blamed on man’s dependency on foreign oil and the manufacturing companies’ dependency on petroleum for food production. Couple it with the mismanagement of creditors to lend money to people and businesses living beyond their means, which leads to more debts and not making enough money to pay the debts. In the end, all these contribute to foreclosures, bankruptcies, unemployment, high oil prices, high food prices, world wide inflation, and global crash or recession not necessarily in that order.

The United States regarded as a superpower based on its ability to influence the world in all respects, is the most hurt among nations. We wake up with the realization that there is no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow…

This sense of hopelessness and fear isn’t only felt domestically. What it means for the rest of the world is that they will most likely be in an even deeper mess if a superpower like America can in fact suffer the way it has. For most anti-US countries, it is a cause for rejoicing but whether other nations favor the United States or not, sooner or later what is happening to the US will have a domino effect to the rest of the world. It is only a matter of time.

Already, in a surprising twist of event, Iceland- a highly-developed country in Western Europe has announced national bankruptcy. How can that be? People declare bankruptcy, companies file for bankruptcy but a country? an entire country?!

For those who think China is the new superpower, think again. They are a Socialist Republic run by communists. They have strong censorship dictating people what they can and can’t read or know. No freedom of expression at all. They even ban certain websites from being accessed. Can you imagine that if you live in China, you can’t even access Youtube or Wikipedia?! They practically control how people live there.  Despite its huge economy, it’s not as strong as some might believe. They are as vulnerable as the next country especially when part of their economy is based on US manufacturing companies, outsourcing jobs in their country. These US companies have declining funds and they are shutting down plants abroad and closing stores domestically. China workers are suffering.

For the Philippines who rely hugely on overseas remittances, what is happening to the world around it most especially to the United States is utterly disconcerting. Last year, the 11 million strong overseas workers (that’s about 11% of the Philippine population!) sent $14 billion to pump the economy. There are 4 million expatriates from the US alone and about 2 million from the Middle East sending remittances, buying properties and creating businesses (=jobs) in the Philippines. This year while it is expected to remain the same, it is already forecasting a decline in 2009. Who knows how many of these 11 million overseas workers will be sent back home or will lose their jobs in the coming months?

While the US dependency on foreign oil is believed to be the major culprit of its economic fall, the Philippines’ major dependency on its biggest export- its human resources doesn’t seem to be a cause for concern at all for the government. In fact they even brag to the whole world that the overseas Filipino workers (OFW) are the lifeblood of the economy pumping those dollars to support the country’s stability and economy.

In short, thanking the overseas workers for NOT having have to lift a hand, for NOT having have to do their own laundry or wash their own dishes, for NOT getting their hands dirty, for NOT having have to sweat blood and tears because the overseas workers are doing it for them! They can be lazy on their jobs because they are getting huge financial support from overseas workers. They can continue with graft and corruption, the things they do best!

Oh as a consolation, they get to call us “modern-day heroes.” Did you hear about Pres. Gloria’s recent announcement that “From now on, call them Expats not OFWs!” She says further that “we should begin to call our overseas Filipinos expatriates because the nature of their job is increasingly more on skilled professions, and they should be called expatriates because expatriates usually get higher pay.” Huh, say that again Madam president?! Are you high?! OFW, Overseas workers, expatriates, slaves, servants- just semantics.

Seriously, that is not something to be proud about! It is a shame to say that your own countrymen are leaving the country of birth for greener pastures and opportunity. That is blatantly admitting that you the government, failed to protect your own people from poverty and unemployment and lack of better paying jobs! I would go back to the Philippines in a heart beat if I know I could survive there and live comfortably the way I can! The Philippines for all its inadequacy and destitution is a paradise to live in.

Does the government actually think we’re here abroad to enjoy the Grand Canyon or Disneyland or just enjoy the view at the Petronas towers where we can relish in the beaches of Boracay or Palawan or explore the rest of the 7,001 islands? We would not have to go to other nations and suffer if you the government can offer more decent jobs for us “expatriates.” This article shows how delusional President Arroyo is!

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By now all Friendster bloggers must have gotten the memo sent out by the Friendster team, of the sudden migration from Friendster Typepad to Friendster Wordpress in early September. I wrote about it first on September 3rd, in shock that no word was said about the transition.

I didn’t stop there. When I re-visited the Friendster Official blog site on September 9 looking for answers I still didn’t find it so I left an exacting comment (#31) on their most recent post at that time, dated August 12th to express my frustration! Yay, I heard back from them and Ross of Friendster commented back on my Friendster blog the following:

“We’re sorry about the confusion and lack of information. We’ve focused our communication to our most-active bloggers. Unfortunately for you, that meant you were not emailed. We plan to make a general announcement in the coming week or so.”

Hmp! I’m hurt not being considered their ‘most-active’ blogger just because I have not blogged in Friendster for a year! LOL. I don’t know about that lousy excuse because two days after my comment on their blog, they finally announced the new format and sent out the same information to all members of Friendster who owns a blog via email! How much effort did they exert creating that simple post and email? I bet it didn’t take 5 minutes to create! So why they waited for over a week to transmit the announcement to non-active bloggers boggles the mind! In the first place, what’s the difference? Active or not active, when you get the announcement, it’s up for the user to react or not. Why hold the information to non-active bloggers?! Isn’t it as simple as hitting the SEND ALL button?!

Enough said on that.

P.S. Friendster Typepad didn’t have “tagging,” a key feature in Wordpress! So now all my old posts have no tags and I am too lazy to put any!!! Grrrr!

P.S.P.S. Would Friendster add more Wordpress themes please???