Friday, February 24, 2006

   BACK FROM PROM PRACTICE
Hey there guys! I just got back from Prom practice. Everything went well, I guess.

Yeah, right. Like nothing crazy happened.

The crazy thing about our practice was our dance with me and my partner, Jacky J. We were dancing the ballroom dance while wearing headphones. And our dance went pretty well with the headphones. Unusual, huh?

Anyway, there was a reason why I wore those headphones. You see, today there were reports of coup attempts. So I decided to listen to the AM radio (something most teens here are not likely to listen) to know the latest news. From there I learned that Madame President has declared a state of national emergency.

Crap! Another bad event in February? First was the stampede, then the landslide. Now, it's the S.O.N.E. thingy! I just hope things don't go from bad to worse.

And since this is a political thing, don't expect me to give hard-hitting comments on this. With the state that the nation is right now, this might lead me to a lawsuit or, hopefully not, a warrantless arrest. (Although that arrest thing isn't likely to happen on me.)

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TODAY'S SPECIAL
Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

amzanig. huh?

Taken from here, but the original source is here.

That's all for today. HAVE A NICE DAY!
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Sunday, February 19, 2006

   TRAGIC NEWS FROM THE PHILIPPINES: LANDSLIDE BURIES ALIVE 1000+
Philippine Rescue Crews Hope for Miracle
By HRVOJE HRANJSKI, Associated Press Writer

GUINSAUGON, Philippines - Hoping for a miracle, rescue workers in the Philippines continued searching for survivors Sunday in an elementary school swamped by a landslide that buried this town and killed some 1,800 people.

No survivors have been found since Friday, however, and reports that students and teachers sent cell phone text messages from inside went unconfirmed, leaving the search effort dispirited and empty-handed.

Teams on Sunday were also digging around the site of the village hall, where about 300 people had been attending a women's conference when the slide buried Guinsaugon.

Fearing more landslides, 11 villages were evacuated as U.S. military ships steamed to the scene. A team of up to 30 U.S. Marines based in Okinawa, Japan, was already at the site. Three U.S. military Chinook helicopters landed near the disaster area as the American military prepared to ferry in troops and supplies.

Police dogs arrived in the sunshine on Sunday after days of constant rain that raised fears of more landslides and hampered efforts to rescue any survivors. Still, low clouds and thin mist suggested that rain could return.

Rescue workers had been warned to tread carefully or risk becoming casualties themselves as the uneasy mud settled.

The landslide on Friday, which followed two weeks of heavy rains, was believed to have killed nearly every man, woman and child in the farming village of Guinsaugon, which was covered with mud up to 30 feet deep. With entire families wiped out, officials were talking about a mass burial for unclaimed bodies.

The situation was so delicate that a no-fly zone was established over the area out of concern that blasts of air from the helicopters' rotors could send the mud oozing again in Guinsaugon, about 400 miles southeast of the capital, Manila.

Medical supplies and excavation equipment were reaching the area on Leyte island, and U.S. military ships were expected later Sunday with 1,000 Marines. But with no survivors found Saturday, it appeared the operation would be recovery instead of relief.

Only 57 people were plucked from the mud Friday from Guinsaugon's population of 1,857. At least 68 bodies were recovered — including 12 on Sunday.

Officials had suspended the search operation after dark Saturday, with the footing too dangerous and no floodlights available to illuminate the massive mud field, which was surrounded by a shallow stream.

More from here

This is the second time this month that I am posting a tragic event in the Philippines here in myO. (The first being the Wowowee stampede)

At first, it didn't really shock me that much since something like this happened before. But after seeing the aftermath of the tragedy, I was horrified. I can't believe a small community is now covered under 30 feet of mud and thousands have been buried alive as we speak.

Now, I would like to ask you to offer your prayers to this tragedy. May the living victims be rescued immediately, may those who died rest in peace, may the weather improve to help the rescuers, and may the rescuers get the strength to recover the victims.

Let's also hope for a miracle. It has been 3 days since this happened, and only 57 were found alive. Let's hope that there'll still be more people rescued alive.

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EDIT: As of the latest, 400+ people have already been rescued while 85+ have died and over 1,300 are still missing. Keep those prayers coming.
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Tuesday, February 14, 2006

   LOVE IS IN THE AIR!!!
Hey guys! It's Valentine's Day once again! It's that day of the year where we give love to the people around us...next to giving chocolates and roses that is.

For this year, I decided to do something different. I made (yup, MADE) some chocolate balls for my classmates. The recipe's kinda easy; you just melt the chocolate, add some rice crispies, mix together, form into balls using a spoon, chill, and serve. They seem to have enjoyed it.

For others, they did something quite...unique! They happen to be a lot, so I decided to list it in *drumroll* ... THE TOP 5 CRAZY MOMENTS IN VALENTINES 2006! Here they are:

5. Former lovers and now worst enemies Moe and James did something I thought I would never see. They hugged each other on Valentines Day! But their faces seem to be telling me they're still mad at each other.
4. Blue Hawk saw her junior friend Serge holding a rose. She asked for whom was the rose for. Then Serge quickly said it was for her! What a cute couple!
3. My classmate Shaldon told junior gal Tamae to check out the back of t-shirt. Tamae then saw some writings which can be summarized in 3 words: I LOVE YOU! Some spectators started singing "I Want To Spend My Lifetime Loving You", while Shaldon gave her flowers and a whole cake.
2. My male classmate JV had a Valentine card for Joshua Varela that read, "For the Man I Love". Inside it was his personal message. I kinda forgot the message but it went something like this "My Varela-la, can I touch your tra-la-la, and I'll open up my ding-ding-dong." And when Joshua asked Katya for a date (see #1 entry), JV screamed, "WHAT ABOUT ME???" (fyi, he's not gay; he just likes to act like he loves Joshua)
1. A sophomore guy named Joshua took a sophomore girl named Katya on the top floor. Then some grade-schoolers from down below held out large signs for Katya to see. It said, "WILL U BE MY VALENTINE?" Then there was some singing done by the senior boys. And, if I'm right, the girl agreed to be his Valentine! Sweet!

How 'bout you? What did you do this Valentines Day?

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TODAY'S SPECIAL
Since I can't give you chocolates or flowers, here's my gift for you this Valentines. Just click here to get it!

And if you have high speed connection, check out the 8-minute Valentine OVA, "Magical Chocolate". I haven't watched it yet 'coz my connection is slow, so I'll let you do the judging. Click here to watch the video

That's all for today. HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!
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Saturday, February 11, 2006

   BACK FROM A BLACK BIRTHDAY PARTY!
Hey there guys! How's it going? I guess my post yesterday was quite long that nobody got interested in commenting it. So I'll try to make this one brief yet fun, ok?

Anyway, I just came back from the 17th birthday party of my grade-school classmate Niña. And guess what was the party's theme. Not red, not orange, but BLACK!

Specifically, the outfit was gonna be a la Underworld or Van Hellsing. I dressed up in a black t-shirt, black shades, and black jacket (a la Undertaker - Biker Thug version).

Anyway, the party was great. I had a little reunion with my old grade-school classmates as well as meeting their old grade-school classmates. The food was great, and the punch was cool.

Alas, the word "duty" didn't seem to leave me in a party. I became the photographer in the party and took pictures of some of the birthday girl's precious moments (plus some billiard moments from her visitors). But hey, it was still fun.

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TODAY'S SPECIAL
Yesterday, I posted that I will be sharing a link to a Valentine video. But I can't do that right now 'coz I haven't seen it yet.

However, love is still in the air, so let's move on with the Valentines special. For today, we're gonna have the meanings of kisses. Here it goes:
MEANINGS OF KISSES
* Kiss on the hand - I adore you.
* Kiss on the cheek - I just want to be friends.
* Kiss on the chin - You are cute!
* Kiss on the neck - I want you.
* Kiss on the lips - I love you.
* Kiss on the ears - Let's have some fun.
* Kiss anywhere else - You're the best.

From: http://www.romantic-tips.com/kissmeanings.shtml

That's all for today. HAVE A NICE DAY!
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Friday, February 10, 2006

   SCHOOL + REPORT + CONTROVERSY = A VERY CRAZY WEEK!
Hey there guys! I've just finished a very, VERY crazy week in school.

But first of all, let me correct some facts from the article in my previous posts. Only 74 people died in the stampede at Manila and not 88 as previously mentioned. The error was due to double counting by the rescue workers.

Now, back to my crazy week. What did I do that made my week quite tiring? Well, it can be summarized in one word: REPORTS! I got busy preparing our group report on William Golding and his novel, "Lord of the Flies". And because of my "kind" heart, I also got busy helping my classmates in their Trigonometry reports. Their Trigo reports are also their projects, so I just can't leave them alone, can I? And, besides, I'll be doing my report next month, so I'm free for some time.

Another thing that made my week crazy (but not really tiring) is CONTROVERSY. Remember my recollection last January? Well, my teacher revealed that something happened in the recollection house which made her very, VERY upset at us. Now, I'm not gonna be telling more info about this controversy because:
1. I don't know exactly what happened 'coz I was asleep when it occured;
2. I am, thankfully, not involved;
3. I don't know who will be reading my post (Imagine the Education chief reading this post. Scary!!!); and
4. If ever I do reveal some unconfirmed facts about it, they might do something bad to me, like not trusting me or charging me with libel.
So I'll just keep my mouth shut about this, okay?

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TODAY'S SPECIAL
Because of that tragic stampede last week, TODAY'S SPECIAL was temporarily cancelled. Now it's back.

And since Valentines Day is a few days away, my specials (Yes, specials. Plural form.) for today will be some links to cool features on Valentines... with an anime twist.
Be My Valentine! - Anime Dating Guide - A dating guide to help otakus who are searching for love. A fun read, even if you're not looking for love.
The Otaku Love Quiz - A fun and informative Valentines anime quiz (Prepare pen and paper to answer the quiz)

Plus, here's a link to manga scans of the 6th Magic Kaito file, "I'll Steal Your Heart"
Magic Kaito - I'll Steal Your Heart
Synopsis: According to the mirror on the wall, Akako (a witch who has the mirror) is the fairest of them all. She thinks she is able to own every man's heart. However, there is only one man who refuses to give her his heart and that person is Kid (high school student at day, phantom thief later). So, Akako is trying her spell to get Kid's heart. One is using spell, one is using magic, who is going to win?

P.S. I'm planning to post a link to a Valentine video here, but I have to check it first if it's really good. Watch out for it!

That's all for today. HAVE A NICE DAY!
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Saturday, February 4, 2006

   TRAGIC NEWS FROM THE PHILIPPINES
Stampede at Manila Stadium Kills 88
By TERESA CEROJANO, Associated Press Writer

MANILA, Philippines - At least 88 people were trampled to death early Saturday in a stampede outside a stadium where thousands of people had gathered to watch a popular TV game show, the Philippine Red Cross said.

Red Cross chairman Sen. Richard Gordon said 280 others were hospitalized with injuries.

About 30,000 people were waiting to get inside the stadium for the program "Wowowee," said Vicente Eusebio, the mayor of Pasig, the Manila suburb where the stampede occurred.

Suddenly the crowd surged toward the gates, thinking they were open, he said.

One survivor said some people became rowdy when they could not enter. The show was to include a raffle with a jackpot equivalent to $384.

"The raffle tickets can be obtained at the gate so everyone was in a hurry. There was pushing and people in front of the gate were crushed," said Myrna Britania, 42, who spoke at a hospital where the injured were being treated.

Britania, who had spent all night in line, said "people at the back of the line were pushing not knowing there were already people dead lying on the ground in front."

Eusebio and police denied reports that the stampede was caused by a bomb scare.

Merquieades Salazar cried over the body of his wife, who was among those crushed. Salazar, 45, said the couple was jobless and wanted to try their luck at winning the jackpot.

"In the desire to win money, she is the one I lost," Salazar sobbed as he stroked his dead wife's hair.

"We both fell and we were both pinned to the ground," he said.

Authorities were collecting the dead and lining up the bodies on the side of a street outside the stadium for identification as bags and shoes lay scattered outside the hall.

Click here for more

I was quite shocked when I first heard about this. Honestly. I never thought something tragic like this would happen on Wowowee's first anniversary. It's really, really sad.

Let's just pray for those affected by this tragedy. May the souls rest in peace, may the injured be healed, and may this never happen again.
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Friday, February 3, 2006

   I HAVE WHITE HAIR! NOOOO!!!!
Hey guys! I'm still suffering from a throat problem. I just hope this will be gone soon.

Anyway, few hours ago my classmate Jozhua was pulling off something from my head that you don't normally expect in teenagers: WHITE HAIR! And it wasn't just one strand. There were 8 strands! I really am maturing too fast!

But that's nothing compared to the number of strands of white hair that I pulled from Jozhua's head. I was able to pull FIFTY (50) STRANDS OF WHITE HAIR from his head. Quite a lot, huh?

It makes me wonder why we're starting to have white hair in our heads, while old people start to have white hair when they're...well...old.

On other stuff, we had our Speech Festival this week. I joined the Oration Contest...and lost! Waahhh!!! But I can't blame myself for it. I was assigned 2 days before the contest and I finished my piece (and studied it) the night before. That could explain why I kept pausing on the contest proper.

There was also a Debate Contest. The best of the series of debates occured in the final round. They were talking about whether abortion should be legalized or not. The verbal fight was quite good. Better than the frat debates before it! From the debate, I also learned that aborted fetus is being served as HUMAN FOOD in some countries. SICK!!! In the end, the Negative side won.

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TODAY'S SPECIAL
Since myOtaku is a site for ANIME fans, I guess I should post some anime stuff in this segment. So here I go:

QUOTES FROM SAMURAI X, THE MOVIE
The blue sky is infinitely high, crystal clear...that's what the world should be, a world of infinite possibilities, laid before us, crystal clear. - Kintatsu

The slashing days we made before, were paid by these young men with their lives. If Kintatsu is alive, he will not allow any bloodshed. - Kenshin

You and Shigure are the same...at the end of the Tokugawa era, people were blinded by their passions...their confusions caused them to split between right and wrong, because there are NO Right and Wrong. They fight for what they believe, just like you. I don't blame you for Kintatsu's death, you don't have a choice. - Toki

That's all for today. HAVE A NICE DAY!
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Sunday, January 29, 2006

SORE THROAT SUCKS!
It really sucks to have a sore throat, huh? And right now, I'm suffering from one.

Hey there guys. A day after the enjoyable retreat in Talisay City, I found myself suffering from sore throat. Might have because of the super-sweet chocolate milk that my classmate whipped up for me. And what's worse about a sore throat is

To counter the pain, I've been drinking water countless. I've even been drinking hot water to minimize the pain. I drank some kalamansi (Chinese lemon) juice. But I still don't feel good.

I've told my dad to buy me some medicine while they go to Church. (I didn't go since I already had my anticipated mass yesterday.) I just hope I'll feel better in the coming days.

While I'm suffering from sore throat, I'm also researching on some stuff for my brother's project. Kinda hard to find, but I think I can manage.

Before I forget, Kung Hei Fat Choi (Happy Chinese New Year) to all the Chinese peeps out there. And as a little celebration to the year of the Fire Dog, check out my avatar. It's none other than the Dog of the Sohma family in Fruits Basket, Shigure Sohma. (One of my fave characters in FB because of his funny antics.)

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TODAY'S SPECIAL
Some crazy quotes from some people:
"My opponent deserves to be kicked to death by a jackass, and I'd like to be the one to do it. " - South American Politician

"I've never had major knee surgery on any other part of my body." - Winston Bennett, University of Kentucky basketball player
Taken from Reader's Digest, June 2003

That's all for today. HAVE A NICE DAY!
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Saturday, January 28, 2006

   BACK FROM A RECOLLECTION
Hey there guys! I just came back from our Recollection in the Don Bosco Retreat House. It was quite fun and enjoyable.

Our first day (yesterday) started out with a surprise. There was this janitor (wearing plain t-shirt and shorts) who seemed to be busy cleaning on every place that we went. Now, I didn't really mind that since I don't have any good reason to be minding his business.

After a worker in the retreat house told us the house rules, she turned us over to our speaker. Of course, we expected someone wearing formal clothes to be our speaker. But we were wrong. The janitor went in front of us and stood there before we noticed him and got quiet. It turned out that the "janitor" IS the speaker! (a la "Bruce Almighty")

The speaker, who was actually an engineer-psychologist, then had his lecture, which turned out to be so cool and so funny. Then we did some activities and some other stuff.

Nothing much happened in my sleepover. However, my classmates found themselves spending dawn chatting and finally going to Dreamland by 4 a.m.! (And to think I WOKE UP at 4 a.m.!)

Later on, we had an activity where me, my adviser and my classmates wrote inspiring messages to each other. Then came the confession and the mass (where I read the 2nd reading).

Everything turned out to be great. I learned a lot and I felt my faith has been renewed.
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TODAY'S SPECIAL
Here's a short, funny story about a little boy's faith (from Reader's Digest, July 1998)
A little boy was saying his evening: "Dear God, bless mommy, bless daddy, bless me. And take care of yourself, because if anything happens to you, we're in big trouble." - Contributed by Mario Veilleux

That's all for today. HAVE A NICE DAY!
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Saturday, January 21, 2006

   I'M ALL TIED UP!
Hey guys. Seems I haven't posted much after the grand opening of the cafe. But here's the good news: I'M BACK!

Anyway, I'm kinda "tied up" right now due to some work in school. There's this research on some well-known authors. There's the analysis on 3 court cases (which, thankfully, is still due March). And, last but not the least, is the CROCHET project.

While my other classmates have already made A fabric out of it, I'm still trying to make one for myself. I'm planning to make a cellphone case, but I don't know how. Plus, the instructions in the Net are a bit complicating *sigh* If you know any simple crochet projects, then please tell me about. I'll appreciate your help.

Moving on. Our local network still continues to cut the final scenes of GTO to give way to the news show.

Now that sucks, doesn't it? I know news is important, but isn't it a bit irritating for the audience to keep on wondering how every episode ended? If it's possible, they should modify their skeds so that we can really enjoy GTO. For now, I'll just have to read the translated scripts or go to YouTube.

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TODAY'S SPECIAL
Speaking of YouTube, here's a clip that I found from that amazing site. It's the Top 10 George W. Bush moments from the Late Show with David Letterman. This clip is really very funny and, I guess, one of the best Top 10 list I've ever seen in the Late Show. Hope you'll like it.

P.S. To Pres. Bush, the US gov't, and all the Bush supporters, I'm sorry if this would offend you. And please don't let the CIA hunt me down!




That's all for today. HAVE A NICE DAY!
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