quoting Britney

"We will never really understand or figure out life completely. That's God's job. I can't wait to meet him ... or her. Love, Britney."

read whole text here

cute na, smart pa!

Babies Can Distingush Different Languages By Sight

Toronto - A new Canadian study suggests that babies can actually recognize different languages by looking at facial expression of the speaker. With no sounds at all, babies have the ability to tell whether a person has changed which language they are speaking, such as English and French.
Babies who grow up in bilingual households can also retain the ability to tell when someone switches a language much faster. The study was done at the University of British Columbia. It is published in the journal Science.
Researchers looked at babies four, six, and eight months old and watched how they reacted to different facial expressions based on languages.
“It (the study) shows us that infants are sensitive to visual properties of spoken language, one more step in putting together a symbolic, multi-modal system of communication,” Dr. Athena Vouloumanos of McGill University’s Department of Psychology said in a statement.
The study concluded that babies can tell between the languages and that the brain is definitely set, especially at a young age, to learn more than one.

cute kaayo :)

ding!

I long to have this shirt...minus the face of course.

ANYWAYS...

No more coke muna ako. hard, but i have to. health issues tawnz. and did i succeed? for three straight days, i havent had a sip of it (that is something every mama should be proud of. niak niak niak). had juice and iced tea instead. my third day today, and i'm sticking to this battle against sugar (and itchiness). but darn, i just committed practically the same sin. i devoured a whole bar of chocolate this afternoon. damnit! but i swear, i did not have coke today. pramis.

i still have four bars of chocs in my bag...anyone?

moviessss...

The White Countess

Natasha Richardson, Ralph Fiennes (aka Lord Voldemort)

Setting is in Shanghai during the 30s. The story: a blind but rich American guy (Fiennes) falls in love with a Russian refugee (Richardson) amid the chaos brought about by the coming war. It's heavy drama. And the performances are top notch. Maayo jud kaayo ni si Voldemort moda, as in.




Bridge to Terabithia

Josh Hutcherson, AnnaSophia Robb, Bailee Madison

I am a fan of children's movies (Lion King, The Land Before Time, etc) but this one is far from "it." The stars though, especially little Bailee, are real cutie.




Saint Sinner

Greg Serano

Gross. Really gross. But not scary. I'm so sick of watching movies that are supposedly horror in genre but never get closer to that promise. Especially this one. Ggrr...


Sa Ilalim ng Cogon

Yul Servo, Julia Clarete

Otro! I was so disappointed by this one. The setting was almost perfect for a horror/adventure movie (it's indie, btw), but the director found it difficult to get his focus. He put altogether in this story the "halimaw" that never got to prove its existence here (not even scary at all), the love story of Julia and Yul, the crime of Yul, the doctor who was never actually there, and the weird Julia (who turned out to be the doctor's daughter and the halimaw's sister). Way ayo!



The Departed

Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen

I've been longing to watch this film. And Martin Scorsese, you're the best!

tattoos, anyone?

it seems like everyone is having a tattoo these days. there's even this one event, Pinatikay (a national tattoo competition), this May 31 at the Cabanas bars in Mango Ave. (libre promo uy!) that will definitely add more tattooed bodies in this island. i know of the event bec i attended its presscon, and cripes, the organizers--who are tattoo artists themselves, had even offered us a free tattoo of our choice. i gathered from one of them that the price could range from P1,500 to thousands. what a painful way to waste your money. the good side of it, though, is you get to express yourself, this is also art, you know. but whatever, it is still a painful self expression that although i'd love to find out how it felt to have the needles artistically scar me for life, i still did not say yes to the offer. and besides, i'm still not over with my needle issue, man.

some have tattoos to cover their scars. a good idea. i have tens of scars all over my body, while other areas of my skin are now red with jelly fish stings that i got from Pescador and maybe from Portofino (or Olango, i dunno, they just multiplied after days of island hopping, char!) and if i decide to cover them with tattoos there won't be an inch left of my skin without it, so that'll make me a walking lumot. ha ha!

but really, as of now, i think my scars are perfectly okay as they are. :)

They are coming back????

LONDON: Rumour has it that there is a good chance of a much awaited Spice Girls reunion.

The English all-female band, which split in 2001, is reportedly getting back together for a charity concert in the summer.

And reports are rife that the five pop sensations are being offered a multi-million pound television documentary contract.

According to reports pop magnate Simon Cowell is trying to secure an agreement for his TV production company Syco to film the fly-on-the-wall programme, which will focus on the girls' individual lives since the split.

And it seems that Posh Spice, who is a good friend of Cowell, is the motivating force behind the plan.

"Simon knows and sees Victoria the most and they’ve spoken about doing a two-hour TV documentary. She was really keen and has been speaking to the girls about it," the Daily Express quoted a source, as saying.

"They're all up for doing something, as long as it's done right, and they think a fly-on-the-wall film about their preparation for a one-off charity gig would work well," the source added.

Another source revealed that while Posh and the other three are busy convincing Mel C, who is not too keen on the reunion.

"While Geri Halliwell, Mel B, Emma Bunton and Victoria, are all really keen, they’re having a hard time convincing Mel C, who isn’t sure she wants to be on the road touring again," the source said.

"It will be similar to the Take That show, which subsequently led to a sell-out arena tour, hit comeback album and No1 singles," the source added. (from the wires)

diving at Pescador

Perhaps this is the best summer I had in so many years. In a span of two months I had three dives and some snorkeling tries in between. Snorkeling is much more fun actually, especially when you're with adventurous people (like I was with yesterday) who don't get scared of exploring the seas, be it going farther from the boat or to the forbidden spots.

For this week, we tried the Pescador Island, Moalboal.



The island is 15 minutes from the Panagsama Beach by motorized boat. It is lovely from afar, just ordinary when you get closer. But hey, its beauty underneath is incomparable to anything including your handsomest boyfriend or prettiest girlfriend. Wahahah!

The closest you get to the island is about ten meters from this site. We tried getting here, and I just ended up scraping my left thumb when I held onto a big rock for support to reach this side. And it bled like hell during the first hours! Darn, I hate Moalboal rocks!

The left side of the island. You can go snorkeling around this big rock/small island of Pescador and still get the same enjoyment the scuba divers do when they go down under. You don't get to see the "cathedral" (a cave underwater) though. And the white tip shark, the barracudas, among other variety of marine creatures that are said to reside several feet under this water. Even pro divers from our group, although they wanted to see that shark, were apprehensive of actually seeing one face-to-face. Nyaaa...

The right tip of the island.

The Pescador water. From the boat you can already see the different types of corals, but up close, the sight is so cool, you don't want to go up for fresh air again. But you be careful because a few meters away is the "kantil" (the cliff), which is approximately 200 fathoms deep. Its deepness alone is already scary. In my previous post, I said it was no more than 90 feet, and I was wrong. One fathom is 6 feet, and when you do the math, you get 1,200 feet. At least 1,200 feet, sus ginoo!

After the dive. I only got closer to the kantil. Pramis, mahadlok jud ka, hadlok gani'ng mga pro divers, ako pa kaha! They told me (they were the first to dive) that they don't want to see that part of the sea because it is very dark, very opposite to the other side where corals have painted it with different colors. So when my guide/instructor brought me closer to that direction, I really don't know what part of his gear I was heavily tugging at, that he immediately brought me back to the safer zone without using that "OK" hand signal. Sometimes, I am a total pain in the ass, and whether it's likable or not, I'm sticking to it.

Why would I dare go to that part anyway, when the area that I'm allowed to is already amazingly wonderful (i.e. the different colors of fish blending well with the corals of varying sizes and shapes, the white stony seabed, etc). Well, save for that "tigwalo" they saw on the other side of a rock. That's like a snake I was told, and yeah, I am not fond of this kind of creature. Pakit-a nalang ko'g dragon, utang buot.

So anyway, I've been to Pescador Island, and next stop will be the Tubbataha Reef in Sulu Sea. Hahahah!

not because he said so

don't expect change if you aren't doing anything to effect it. i so admire mahatma gandhi whose words have remained as powerful as when they were first said, "be the change you want to see in the world."

change. vote.

this one is for the books (lol)

Certificate of Participation and a silver medal.

They gave me that last night, the Talisay City Tennis Club. And it felt really great, it's good to smile, as in really smile these days. Just shows how mabaw I am. Anyway, the certificate is sort of a diploma for having finished the one-month training (the summer tennis clinic), while the medal is like an award for "winning" in the tournament. I joined in the tournament alright, but I had no idea losers were also awarded until my name was called during the graduation/awarding ceremony last night. Hahahah! And mine was supposed to be bronze but one of the coaches is a friend and he kind of exchanged my medal to this sparkling one. He he!

Seriously, one of the bronze medals was lost or misplaced, so I gave mine to the other player who was also a third placer like me. And since silver is better than bronze, I mean, color-wise, I did not argue when that coach asked if I don't not mind taking home one of the two extra silver medals instead. OMG, who does??? Certainly not me.

Now, I know how it feels to be a silver medalist in tennis. Hahahah!

HP 7 recap

What a way to end a successful series...Anyway, here's my recap and some tidbits of review of this much-awaited book.


Dudley Dursley, Harry’s cousin, is actually a wizard.

Professor Dumbledore is really dead.

Hogwarts has been temporarily closed for this school year because of the war, triggered by Dumbledore's fall.

Voldemort has taken hold of the Ministry of Magic (considered the highest office in the wizarding world) after killing its minister and then the interim minister. Percy Weasley, Remus, Tonks, among many characters, are also killed here.

As for the bida, Harry Potter has fallen so deeply, madly in love with Ginny, and it's like eewww to the nth power ilang drama. There are actually a number of times when I felt like reading Sweet Valley High, although I’ve never in my life read such mushy high school novels. And, take note, they have PMS here. Not explicit yet enough to make me almost puke. I mean, this is supposed to be for kids and big kids alike, yeah, and why in the name of Merlin has JKR gone into that direction. They are all the same, Ron and Hermione, you see. Pfft!

Ginny, because she is Harry’s new love, has been allowed to join the group of Ron, Hermione and Harry. With her around, it’s like watching a Tagalog action movie wherein the male lead has to save his ass and his girlfriend’s while trying to get away from the enemies. I’ve never skipped a single word in all HP books, until this one. Too many down side, I almost reached to the point of hating JKR for using this type of storyline...just to prove that the characters are already growing up? Nah. But what the heck, this could be a fan fiction for all I know.

To kill Voldemort, Harry has to destroy all 7 Horcruxes, each of which contains the Dark Lord’s soul. The 7th Horcrux is Harry, which means he has to kill himself too in order for him to completely destroy Voldemort. After several smooching episodes, run around stuff, Harry has successfully killed Voldemort in the end, sparing his own life by creating his own horcrux using Voldemort’s soul, which has been in his body since his childhood. This part, though, bears that unmistakable trademark of JKR. At least, there is that one part.

So Voldemort’s dead.

Draco Malfoy, for his part, has become an instrumental factor in killing Voldemort with his Legimency skills (reading the mind thing). He turns against the Dark Lord after he failed to kill Dumbledore in book 6, scared he might be killed so he sought refuge to Harry’s group (the Order of the Phoenix).

Snape gets arrested, and jailed in Azkaban.

THEN, everyone lives happily ever after: Harry marries Ginny. Harry takes care of their baby. Ron marries Hermione. Et cetera. Et cetera. Nakakaloka!

But not for long. The story ends at Privet Drive, the Dursleys' home. It appears that Dudley, who fancies dark magic, is showing some signs of becoming the next Dark Lord. His parents have been "mysteriously" murdered here.

This may not be the end of the HP series after all. But if there will be more Harry and Ginny snogging in the next ones to come, I’d rather have this one as the last. Salamat nalang!

I don't mind getting filthy rich tomorrow. really.

body of Ferdinand Marcos Egyptian Museum, Cairo

Sunken Cemetery, Camiguin The Colosseum, Rome

Diplomat Hotel, Baguio The Pyramids of Egypt



The Hanging Coffins of Echo Valley, Sagada, Mountain Province


Somewhere in Singapore, said to have housed some of Yamashita's treasures

Saddam's gold. Wow! Kadaghan.

The remains of the city underwater in the eastern harbor of Alexandria, which used to be Cleopatra's Kingdom.

Premonition (a review)

Premonition

Sandra Bullock, Julian McMahon

The reviews aren't good, but i went to watch it yesterday anyway. Sandra Bullock, as usual, gave her best shot here. I've read, she did not even have a double when her character, Linda, was given a shot of some IV liquid. Talking of good performances.

Anyway, some may find this film as another one of those...It even reminded me of "If Only," however, as the story progresses it proves its point that it's something else. It's even a lot more different than any other films of the same nature I've seen.

A housewife (played by Sandra) receives the news of her husband's death one afternoon. The next morning, however, when she wakes up she finds her supposedly dead husband in her side. And when she awakens again the following day he’s dead, and alive again in the next. How she lives through with this mystery is for you to find out, kay hasta ako naglibog hangtud karon.

Pero in fairness, the film is done in good taste, the performances are great (including the two kids’), and the story is interesting, although mind-boggling to the nth power.

whatever!!!!

I don’t know if I should be happy about this new thing that I’ve allowed myself into. But if I’m into this, with or without my heart, I think I will learn to live by and love it eventually.

Anyway, I had my first day of formal diving lesson today (bec my instructor was kind enough to give it for free). I should be happy about it, right? But honestly, I was kind of apprehensive at first. I had gone scuba diving three times already, and no doubt the experience was fun. But, I’m still hesitant to continue my lessons. I’ve already gone underwater, thrice, as I said it, but why I’m still bloody frightened is I don't know. I am a jerk jud. Ggrr!

This morning’s lesson was supposedly followed by a real scuba diving, me going underwater with a heavy tank strapped in my back and all without much of an assistance, which I am not used to. During my first three dives, I was not in full gear: no fins and tank, bec I’d rather hitch one than carry my own super heavy tank. Yeah, number one tapulan. I feel uncomfortable with fins on, just like that) But today, I was made to wear and carry them all like an obedient student.

The dive, done at the swimming pool, was fine though. My breathing was okay, and I did quite well almost all the techniques (defog the googles while underwater, how to swim with the fins on, read hand signs, etc)

My instructor had already set up the motorized boat that would take us to the Lagundi Reef, which is just about 50 meters from the shoreline of barangay Poblacion beach, but I chickened out. Well, not actually. I had a press conference to attend to in just an hour, so it was kind of a good excuse to postpone the trip. Had there been no other engagement this afternoon…

I just don’t know if I could complete the test (I honestly don’t know how far this will be) like stay underwater for at least 30 minutes or longer (the better). Whoa! The longest I made it was 20 feet for about 10 minutes. And when I decided to go up it’s always because of my goggles (foggy or watery). Always.

There may be a real dive tomorrow. And I am not excited about it. But part of me wants to do it once and for all. The divers in our place are planning to go back to Moalboal to try Pescador Island anytime this month, and they have already invited me to join them. If I don’t get this thing done and over with very soon, I may not be able to join them (and just stay about 20 feet like in the past dives, which is not that exciting anymore). That’s going to be a big loss, if ever. But I still have tomorrow or the day after it. So help me God.

i care, i vote

May 14 is fast approaching, and I'm still not getting any offers to buy my vote. Honestly, no one has ever tried to approach me of such intention. Either the candidates' commissioned "agents" just missed me during the past elections (I've been eligible to vote since...never mind) and this year's or they have since known my vote is never for sale. But really, I am going to accept their money if ever. I gathered from neighbors that one vote is no less than P500. Oh, man, that's 3 tall mocha frappuccinos and 3 chocolate donuts at Starbucks already. Cripes, buy me now! Hahah! Seriously, I already have a list, a very short one, for next Monday. And here it is:

My Senators:

1. Joker Arroyo (TU). "Pag bad ka, lagot ka." I met him two Fridays ago (when Team Unity candidates went to Talisay City), and I could say he is really nice. Had a picture of him, I'm posting it one day. This man is not our traditional politician. For one, he is known as the most frugal senator in the country. He never travels abroad on government money, and his SAL has remained almost unchanged from the time he entered public service in 1986. Who can beat that, huh?

2. Prospero “Butch” Pichay (TU). “Itanim sa Senado.” So itanim. I think he’s not bad.

3. Chiz Escudero (GO). I’ve interviewed him once, and he’s got this political will only a few in his league has. Take or leave a few of that will, he’ll make a good legislator.

4. Mike Defensor. He looks nice and honest.

Not in my list…definitely.

1. Loren Legarda (Genuine Opposition). Syet! I hate her TV ad (so overly dramatic. What does she think of the Filipinos, fools??), her guts, her face, her inconsistencies, and almost everything about her.

2. Manny Villar (GO). Man, he was behind Erap’s impeachment, and now he is literally behind the deposed president’s back. Talking of politics!

3. Chavit Singson (TU). This is another of those how-far-can-my-money-take-me games. Then good luck!

4. Richard Gomez (Independent). Are you kidding me?

5. Noynoy Aquino (GO). His mom is former President Cory Aquino, and his dad is the late Senator Ninoy Aquino, who was allegedly ordered dead by then President Marcos. Marcos died but left a good number of cronies. Erap is no doubt one of them. GO is backed by Erap, and Noynoy (and his mom too) is with this party. So much for honor and consistency.

6. Alan Peter Cayetano (GO). When his father Rene Cayetano died, his sister Pia kinda of replaced him. And now this Congressman wants to get in the Senate too. Why, is Pia dead already?

7. Miguel Zubiri (TU). Argh! This guy talks a lot like a girl. I don’t like his guts, and his smile, it looks photoshop-ed to me.

8. Antonio Trillanes (GO). He wants to effect change, he’s just in the wrong way. Look what his failed mutiny had stirred in this country, it triggered several attention-grabbing scenes like in Manila, for example, wherein people would just climb to the tallest billboards and voila they become instant celebrities (not to mention that guy who held hostage a busload of kids). And here too...just a few days ago, a man shot himself dead before a huge crowd; and yesterday, a man was perilously dangling from SM’s third floor because he was desperate. Yeah, we want to be heard, but please, not this very bad way.

I can only count in my one hand those who are worthy of my one vote. The same also goes for the local bets in my city. So far, I only have one (of the 10) councilor in my list (he so deserves it ‘cause he is my neighbor. Heheh.) and haven't decided if I should vote for our releectionist mayor (who is my bestfriend) or not. I think not. In the provincial race, I don’t have a vice guv, and a second provincial board member (there are two). Unlike in the written exams, I can go ahead leaving blanks in my ballot this May 14, because in this case my mistakes are three years to feel in the local scene, while six years in the national. And I won’t be feeling it alone. Seriously.

And for the more serious thing...

Digest it.





A door of a guardhouse of Saavedra Fish Sanctuary, barangay Saavedra, Moalboal.

Moalboal revisited

This time with proofs and more adventures...

Hali Resort, Moalboal town




Its peaceful landscape...



Hali at low tide. This place becomes a perfect place in the afternoon (but only on low tides) for long walks to the other side of the beach: Magpayong and in the right is the Panagsama.




Rocky but beautiful. Several meters ahead is the Panagsama (of the famous Bas Dako beach)



Farther down is the Magpayong Beach (see photos below)



From the rock are another rocks. The umbrella-like rock formations of Magpayong. Hence, its name.



A little closer.



Yeah, starfish.




The I-do-not-know-you sea creature. Snake-like but it's actually not. Still, it scared me when I almost stepped over it. Geez.



Exposed. The dreaded sea urchins.



Almost sunset. This is the view from the tambay area of the resort, about four meters above this level.




Sunset at last. I had no sunrise photos to post because I so missed it. Still asleep, eh. Darn! :D

The Scuba divers from my city, the owner of the resort (the lady at the back), the mom of one of the divers (the smaller woman), and this blogger (also a diver...naks!).



And yezz, we went to the "cliff" part of Bas Dako, and I wasn't scared at all. Well, only at first, but when I was already there and saw the garden of corals, I was really amazed and totaly forgot my fear of being swallowed by that dark abyss. Seriously.

The first time I was there, it was last year with friends, and we all had a scary experience. I mean, you don't want to die a meaningless death, do you? You and your friends just go on boating and suddenly you all go down and poof, you all die just like that! Plus, there's not a body to be buried, if you get unluckier (no tombstones, not even a mummy me. heheh). But heck, it was just a morbid thought because in that "hole" is actually a beautiful world of corals, fish, and other sea creatures. And it's not even dark once you get there. My diving instructor, Sir Alfie, brought me to 20-feet down under, the total depth is no less than 90 feet (it's not bottomless after all as I thought it was), and it was really an experience I will never forget in my lifetime (thanks much, sir). I should have gone deeper and farther had my goggles not welcomed seawater (or my fault maybe) midway. So there, my Moalboal dive last Monday. And oh, we were supposed to try Pescador Island, too, the next day, but there was no more available boat to take us there (about 20 minutes from Panagsama beach). Sayang!