Saturday, June 27, 2009

there goes the king

So most of the world is mourning from the sudden death of Michael Jackson, the King of Pop. Children and teenagers might not know who this king is but to most baby boomer gen like you and me, he’s the one who shaped the pop culture of the 70’s.

I – or we- grew up to the tune of his billie jean, dangerous, thriller and many other of his upbeat tunes. At one point in my geeky young life, I also tried once to imitate his moonwalk but soon realized i’m destined not for the spotlight but for other more mundane endeavors.

What’s more endearing to me though are his slower songs like ben when he was still a cute, black 10-year old boy and the later heal the world and man in the mirror when he’s already on his way to being a white, zombie-like creature.

And that’s where I’ve fallen off the MJ fan wagon. I just thought he was spiraling down after being on top for the longest time. I watched with amusement, sometimes with disgust as papers and television splash ugly headlines about the once-golden boy of the entertainment industry.
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The baby-dangling stunt in Germany, the sleepovers with young boys, the court trials for sexual abuse, the news of financial debts and as a whole, the disintegrating grandeur of his entire iconic persona. I just don’t believe it’s worth following someone who’s obviously on the path of self-destruction. Besides, I didn't find his crotch-grabbing dance move amusing.
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But whatever scandal, intrigue, malicious rumors and accusations hurled against him, we can’t deny the fact that he’s one musical genius who has graced the surface of the earth. His name will forever be etched at the halls of the greatest, probably alongside John Lennon and Elvis Presley. Afterall, he still owns the record of biggest selling album of all time. 65 million copies. And nobody comes even close.
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And oh yes, everybody will forever be thankful to MJ for making moonwalk possible anywhere, you don’t have to go to the moon to do it.
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Rest in peace you MJ.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

to forward or not

I’ve said it a long time ago – I hate chain mails. Nakaka-irita at nakakasayang ng oras. Specially those posing as religious messages, ranting about some bible verse and in the end will ask you to pass it on to 20 people or else. I never believe it one tiny bit kaya diretso sa deleted box ang mga ganyan. Wag nang ikalat. Sayang ang megabytes na nagagamit sa internet. At lalong sayang ang oras ng mga nag-bubukas at nagbabasa.

Haven’t these people realized na kung totoo yan matagal na dapat at marami nang natigok, minalas o nakalbo dahil tulad ko eh hindi rin pinasa yong mail at dinelete. Kung totoo yan, marami nang nabawas sa population ng mundo. Baka maya-maya may bumubulagta sa mga bahay natin or in our workplace kasi nag-delete ng chain mails. Anong sinabi ng AH1N1 kung nagkataon. These people should realize that they are doing their faith more harm than good.

Eniweys, iba naman ang mga natatanggap ko lately. This time, mga informative messages naman kuno. Tipong matter-of-fact at kung hindi ka lang mag-iisip ng mabuti eh baka paniwalaan mo agad. Pero dahil nga natural akong pasaway, hindi ako agad naniniwala and instead hold my judgment until it is verified and carried by some reliable sources.

I’ll share these message with you kasi baka meron kayong alam tungkol dito. Site, article or anything that can substantiate or dispel the claims in this mail. Para hindi naman tayo left in the dark. Share nyo rin dito para naman may added value ang DS!.

Here goes…

1. World bank says 1$ = 52 pesos. Lotto is rigged. Sabi don sa mail, isang insider daw from World Bank ang nagsabi na ang totoong palitan ng US$ to PhP ay 52 at hindi yong current rate na 47 or 48. Sabi daw, ginagatasan ng gobyernong Pinas ang mga OFW dahil mababa ang palit ng dolyares na kinikita natin sa pagta-trabaho sa abroad. Dahil paano naman daw magpi-peg sa ganong rate ang dolyares samantalang nagbagsakan nga ang economies all over the globe dahil sa recession. Even Singapore daw which is way richer than Pinas had to suffer the effects of the recession and lose value on their money. Tapos heto ang Pinas at parang hindi apektado.

Ang say ko dyan, may basehan yong idea. Oo nga naman, bakit hindi bumababa ang power ng Piso considering na hindi naman tayo mayaman na bansa. Although ang question ko lang, kung talagang insider sa World Bank ang source, why isn’t he making it to the headlines. Samantalang yong allegation lang nila ng irregularity sa bidding ng government projects, naging malaking issue. So, if this is true, why hide in anonymity? O baka hindi nga totoong insider sa World Bank ang source. Could be anybody who’s plainly disgusted over the current situation na nakikita nya sa gobyerno ng Pinas.

Kasi ang nakakatawa, World Bank ang topic nong mail tapos biglang segue sa PCSO Lotto. Palabas lang dawn g gobyerno yan. At ang totoo daw, it’s the two sons of Gloria na kumakabig ng milyones. Yon daw biggest jackpot ever won by two in Luzon, si Mikey at Datu daw actually ang kumabig non. The mail even explained kung paano pwedeng dayain yong combination ng winning numbers.

Ang say ko pa rin dyan, I’m inclined to believe the very logical explanation kung paano nadadaya ang live and televised draw. Parang totoo nga dahil sa isandaang taon na yata akong tumataya sa lottong yan, ni hindi pa ako naging milyonaryo.

2. Guyabano is the best cure for cancer. Sana kung issued by WHO o kaya ng USFDA yong article, madali akong maniniwala. Coz this is something beneficial to the human race kung totoo. Maraming makaka-afford ng cancer treatment kahit mahihirap. Ang problema daw, according to that mail, kaya daw hindi nailalabas ito commercially, dahil daw pino-protect ang interest ng mga drug companies. In short, pera pa rin ang pinag-uusapan.

Ang say ko dyan, remember Virgin Coconut Oil? Eh bakit hindi maka-break through sa international medical market? Either talagang controlled ng isang cartel ang medical market o talagang walang medically proven wonders yan. In the meantime, we’re left hanging on for dear life even if it means buying horribly expensive medications for our sickness.

3. Tsunami warning on July 22. Sabi don sa mail, dahil daw sa matatakpan ng moon ang sun on July 22 this year, magkakaroon daw ng movement ang mga tectonic plates kasi lalakas ang gravitational pull nong moon. That will cause earthquake daw and possibly a tsunami in the asia-pacific region. Sentro daw ang Japan at masasakop ang Pinas. The mail seem to be supported by scientific facts. May graphic presentation pang kasama with latitudes and longitudes making it appear so authentic.

Ang say ko dyan, remember the prediction ng isang Brazilian na magkakaroon daw ng killer quake sa Pinas last July 18 2008 (see posting entitled Madam Bola dtd July 20 2008)? Hindi kaya ganyan din yang email na yan na gusto lang manakot? And what’s with July anyway? Bakit laging may prediction pag ganitong month?

Nobody can ever predict what will happen. And even if it is supported by scientific facts, hypothesis pa rin yon, conclusion reached based on data. Kaya instead na mamatay tayo sa takot, let’s just pray na hindi mangyari. God is still on the steering wheel . And all we have to do is to trust Him.

Patay din pagdating sa akin ang mga mail na ito. I didn’t forward it dahil ayaw kong magkalat ng information na hindi naman verified. Afterall, I believe that the net should make us wiser. Not bigger fools. But like I said, kung may alam kayo to authenticate the claims of this mail, please do post it here. You’ll be doing DS friends a great favor.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

sorcery, anime style

It's been a while since my last posting. Medyo naubusan ng topics to discuss kaya sencia na mga DS readers. But before you get impatient, here's a brand new one. It's about a film I saw last night, shown at Dubai One na ewan ko naman kung bakit super late nang ipalabas. It started around 12:30 midnight after the epic The Lord of the Rings. But I didn’t mind the wait and the puyat coz the film turned out to be what the plug promised.
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Howl’s Moving Castle (Hauru no Ugoku Shiro) is a 2004 animation masterfully created by the Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki. It was translated into English by Pixar, released by Disney and went on to gross more than $200 million on it’s limited release across US, Canada, Australia and UK (accdg to Wikipedia). I’m not surprised dahil maganda talaga yong film. Sayang lang at hindi ito naipalabas sa Pinas.
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It’s about wizards and witches, sorcery and love. And oh yes, it’s pambata. Pero enjoy na enjoy ako. Imagine naka-tutok ako sa tv at that unholy hour on a workday.
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As the title says, the centerpiece of the film is the moving castle owned by the mysterious and very powerful wizard Howl. Nakaka-aliw sya dahil pag-bukas mo ng pinto, you can step out into different places depende kung saan nakaturo yong dial sa may pintuan. From the outside, it looks like a typical house along a typical street. But once it switches into the magical mode, ibang-iba ang itsura nya and it travels on its four legs to different places. Powered by Calcifer, a fire creature who had a pact with Howl.
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Dito napunta si Sophie, a beautiful 18-year old hatmaker na na-cast under the spell of the Witch of Waste kaya tumanda ang hitsura. She only returns to her normal self pag gabi na. Pero pag araw, isa syang matandang halos kuba na. Kaya lumayas sya sa kanilang bahay at naging cleaning lady nong castle ni Howl.
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Howl is actually a very good looking young man pero nagiging isang malaking ibon when he fights the demons of Suliman, the King’s head Sorceress. Then Howl and Sophie got to know each other, fell in love and fought a war that eventually broke the spells cast over Sophie and the other characters in the story.
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The film is one fine example of the superb Japanese animation technology. And thanks to that technology, the creator’s out-of-this-world ideas were successfully interpreted into the screen resulting to a feast of visually entertaining scenes. As a whole, ibang-iba ito sa mga pelikula about sorcerers and witches na nakita natin from the western world’s Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and my favorite Willow.
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No wonder why it won several awards in various Japanese Anime festivals and was also nominated in the 78th Oscar awards for Best Animated Film. It’s a film that you’ll be glad to watch along with your kids. Coz you’ll enjoy it as much as they do.
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Monday, June 8, 2009

thank you all!

yeeyy! dantespeaks just got it's 10,000th hits. after 20 months on-line, more than 200 posts, one big thank you is what i'd wanna say. thanks for visiting, posting your comments and just hanging out at times. hope you'll keep coming back and give me another one of this....





anatomy of a scandal

To DS friends, pasensya na po but I have to go beyond General Patronage this time. Medyo sensitve po ang topic ko this time so Parental Guidance muna tayo....

After a couple of weeks na laging headline ng dyaryo at tv ang hayden video scandal, mukhang nasa saturation point na ang kontrobersya. Nawala na ang dati nyang init. Natatakpan na sya ng mga English-speaking swine flu victims ng La Salle. Ng pag-uwi ni Mancao. Ng paglalayas ni Ruffa. At kahit ng patuloy na pag-ulan sa Metro Manila.

Hindi ako agad nakisawsaw sa isyu. I mentioned this controversy once dito sa Dantespeaks but not in detail. I just sat back, amused myself with the drama being played out and, most importantly, inantay ko munang mabuo ang picture. And now that the dust seem to have settled at karamihan ng nakisawsaw ay tahimik na, ako naman ang eentra at makikisawsaw sa isyu. Solo ko na ang stage, hahaha!

Bakit nga ba nag-hit ng sobra itong kontrobersyang ito. Because it’s a sex scandal? Partly yes. I said partly lang dahil come on, hindi ito ang unang sex video na kumalat. Ang tagal na ng mga ganyan panahon pa ng Betamax. Sa internet, sandamakmak ang mga ganyan. But never have those scandals reached this magnitude. The way I see it, it has became such a big hit for two reasons:

First - It’s the characters. Celebrity lahat ng involved. But what sets the Hayden videos apart from the other celebrity video scandals is the fact na puro magagandang babae ang ka-partner nya. And by that I didn’t mean the likes of Ethel Booba or Criselda Volks. Mga babaeng sa panaginip lang ng milyong barakong pinoy makikita ang bedroom expertise. But thanks to Hayden, millions of hot blooded pinoys now know what these girls can do. Kaya si Haden, bidang-bida sa mga kalalakihan. Except for Bong Revilla siguro and Abner Afuang na galit daw sa ginawa nya. Asus, maniwala naman ako.
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Second – it’s the number of videos involved. Kasi kung ang sex video scandal dati ay paisa-isa lang, si Hayden ay more than 40 daw ang collection. At kung hindi man totoong 40, aba, the 3 or 4 na lumabas sa internet are more than enough para koronahan natin sya. Hindi man sya ang first sa ganitong controversy, sya naman ang record holder sa paramihan. Quite a feat di ba?
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Aside from these two reasons, kumpleto rin ng rekados yong kwento kaya naging isang mala-circus na telenovela ang nangyari. At tutal tungkol din lang sa sex ang topic, let me paint the picture using body parts. Here goes:
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YON. Hindi ko pwedeng banggitin dito kung ano YON coz I’m still trying not to breach the PG rating I promised at the start of this post. Pero YON ang part ng katawan ni Hayden na pinag-umpisahan ng lahat. The part which seem to rule the entire being of Hayden. And by that I didn’t mean his brains. Kasi kung pinagana nya ang utak nya na sigurado namang marunong dahil hindi sya papasang doctor kung hindi, sana walang pinag-pistahan ang bansang Pilipinas ngayon. Hindi utak ang ginamit nya to decide on the videotaping. Ang pinag-decide nya, YON. Yon na YON.
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MATA. Aba syempre, tayong mga nakapanood sa video. Mula Aparri hanggang Jolo (pahiram Eat Bulaga) and from Akrotiri to Zimbabwe (syempre, kumalat sa internet di ba). Lahat tayo, dilat na dilat ang mga mata. We might not be aware of it pero part tayo ng kontrobersya. Kasi kung walang nanood, walang mag-uusap. Kung walang mag-uusap, walang kontrobersya. But hey, we know it’s not gonna happen. Si Mahal nga na naliligo using a ‘tabo’ hindi pinalagpas sa youtube noh!
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BIBIG. Walang iba kungdi ang media. They turned one a youtube clip into one whole travesty worthy of centerspreads and airtime. A controversy na alam na alam nilang bebenta sa masa. And sell they did. Bumenta ang mga tabloid, pati ang mga broadsheet na pumatol sa isyu. Tumaas ang rating ng mga radio program at Tv shows. At binomba tayo ng minu-minutong reports. Up to the point na pare-pareho na tayong nagsawa at nasuka sa isyu.
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Isama na rin natin dito ang mga Senador na nakakita ng opportunity to do some grandstanding. Para makapag-ingles sa session, para mag-prodyek na women’s right advocate sila. Aba malapit na ang election noh. At syempre, wag nating kalimutan ang iba pang nakisawsaw sa isyu. Ke mga individual like Lolit Solis at ang eksenadorang ina na si Irene. Pati mga cause-oriented groups like Gabriela, provincial governments like Palawan, moralista, Atenista, siklista, manikurista at kung sino-sino pa. Basta lahat ng may sinabi, ke may sense o wala tungkol sa isyu. Maibuka lang ang bibig. Kasama na rin ako!
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PUSO. Syempre si Katrina yan. Dahil umibig sya kay Hayden kahit may ibang girlfriend na. Ginamit ang puso at hindi ang utak. Tumihaya at nagpa-ubaya kahit alam nyang hindi tama. At ngayon, puso pa rin nya ang tinatamaan. She’s the one feeling the pain that’s coming from all directions. From the indignation and humiliation to the underhanded attacks coming from almost everywhere. Sa mga self-righteous na mga manang. Pati yong mga taong akala mo’y nabili na ang kaluluwa nya kung makapag-comment. All because of one mistake. And with all these, bilib ako sa batang ito. For a girl of her age, matibay ang puso nya at kinaya nya lahat. And didn’t give in to the vicious text na kumalat na nag-suicide na raw sya. After the dust settled at natapos ang kontrobersyang ito, sana matutunan nya lahat ng lessons this nightmare is trying to teach her.
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TENGA. I’d say it’s Maricar Reyes. Why? Coz she chose to just listen but never be heard. Mas malinaw ang video nya kumpara kay Katrina (according to those na nakapanood nong kay Kat, yong kay Maricar lang kasi ang napanood ko). At kung pwede sanang i-deny ni Katrina dahil malabo nga, ito namang si Maricar na undeniable na ang guilt ay hindi man lang pumiyok. She let Katrina do the talking, the crying and carrying on the fight. Kung manalo man si Katrina sa laban at maparusahan si Hayden, makikinabang din naman sya kahit indirectly. Didn’t this Maricar realize that by what Katrina is doing, she (Kat) can salvage some of her damaged reputation. Nakakakuha sya ng sympathy sa mga tao by playing the role of a victim very well. Hindi yong tulad ni Maricar na parang gumawa ng pelikula but doesn’t want to take credits for her superb performance. I know it’s a personal choice to be silent about the issue. But whatever reason she has, it would have been 10 times better kung sumigaw din sya ng foul. Keeping mum about the whole thing is just like saying ‘ok lang ang ginawa ni Hayden sa akin. I’m fine with it’. Tsk, tsk…. not too smart doktora Maricar.
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KAMAY. The hands that rocked the Senate. Yan ang mga kamay na nag-upload ng video clip sa youtube. Mga kamay na nag-kopya sa cd at nag-pakalat ng video for whatever purpose. Ke yan man ay kamay ng mga humihingi daw ng 4 million pesos na hindi nakahawak ng ganon karaming pera. Ke yan man ay kamay daw ng bestfriend na inagawan ng girlfriend. Whatever and whoever it is, it’s the hands that played a major role in this circus.
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UTAK. Si Vicky Belo. O, kala nyo hindi ko babanggitin si Mama Vicky dito ha. Hindi ko sya pwedeng kalimutan dahil sya ang utak na gumalaw behind the whole circus. Sya ang utak na nagsabi sa bestfriend na ‘here’s the key to his condo, kunin mo yong video from his laptop’. Kung ano man ang reason nya para kunin yon, at kung ano man ang ginawa nya sa mga video after mapunta sa kamay nya yon, she removed the pin of a highly explosive grenade. Afterall, kahit pa sabihing boytoy nya si Hayden, the videos were personal collection of the guy. And by personal I mean not conjugal. (At kahit naman conjugal eh hindi pa rin sya entitled di ba). The videos are for his personal consumption (aside from the usual pagyayabang nya raw sa mga friends nya while showing the videos) and no amount, kahit pa 300,000 pesos a month or a porsche can give Vicky the right to copy, delete or whatever she wants to do with those videos.
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So, after the gruesome picture was painted, sino ang panalo dito?
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Syempre ang mga boserong tulad natin. Voyeurs never had a field day like this, never hit a jackpot as big as this one. Katrina, Maricar and Mariana. Sino pa kaya ang madadagdag sa listahan.
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Panalo din si Vicky if revenge is what’s on her mind. Ayan nga at nakapag-linya pa raw ang doktora ng ‘pag boyfriend na ng iba wag na kasing pumunta sa apartment ng guy’ or words to that effect. Di ba parang linya ng mga bida-kontrabida sa pelikula who comes back with a vengeance matapos na apihin sa previous eksena.
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Of course, biggest winner dito si Hayden. Coz he got the fame he obviously was craving for na hindi kayang ibigay ng stint nya sa Celebrity Duets. O kahit yong pagiging boytoy nya sa isang cougar na tulad ni Vicky. Ayan nga at sa halip na magalit ang ibang babae sa kanya, sinisigawan pa raw sya ng ‘ayyy, ang guwapo!’. Baka gusto rin nilang ma-video kasama si Hayden!?
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And the only loser? Si Katrina. Coz her life will never be the same from here on. She’ll forever be haunted by this nightmare. She’ll be stigmatized dahil sa maling judgment nya when she fell in love and trusted a wolf in a sheep’s clothing.
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At ako? Well, may naisulat na mahaba-habang blog. Hahaha!

Thursday, June 4, 2009

how the fight started

a friend of mine forwarded this through mail. dunno the source so i can't quote but let me share them anyways. i chuckled and i'm sure you'll do too. thanks ms j.
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how the fight started...
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My wife and I were watching Who Wants To Be A Millionaire while we were in bed. I turned to her and said, "Do you want to have sex?" "No," she answered. I then said, "Is that your final answer?" She didn't even look at me this time, simply saying "Yes." So I said, "Then I'd like to phone a friend."
And that's when the fight started....
************ ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* **
I asked my wife, "Where do you want to go for our anniversary? "It warmed my heart to see her face melt in sweet appreciation. ."Somewhere I haven't been in a long time!" she said. So I suggested, "How about the kitchen?"
And that's when the fight started....
************ ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* *******
Saturday morning I got up early, quietly dressed, made my lunch, grabbed the dog, and slipped quietly into the garage. I hooked up the boat up to the truck, and proceeded to back out into a torrential downpour. The wind was blowing 50 mph, so I pulled back into the garage, turned on the radio, and discovered that the weather would be bad all day.
I went back into the house, quietly undressed, and slipped back into bed.I cuddled up to my wife's back, now with a different anticipation, and whispered, 'The weather out there is terrible.'
My loving wife of 10 years replied, 'Can you believe my stupid husband is out fishing in that?'
And that's when the fight started....
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A man and a woman were asleep like two innocent babies. Suddenly, at 3 o'clock in the morning, a loud noise came fromo utside. The woman, bewildered, jumped up from the bed and yelled at the man 'That must be my husband!'
So the man jumped out of the bed, scared and naked, and jumped out the window. He smashed himself on the ground, ran through a thornbush and to his car as fast as he could go.
A few minutes later he returned and went up to the bedroom and screamed at the woman, 'I AM your husband!' The woman yelled back, 'Yeah, then why were you running?'
And that's when the fight started....
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I tried to talk my wife into buying a case of Miller Light for$14.95.Instead, she bought a jar of cold cream for $7.95. I told her the beer would make her look better at night than thecold cream.
And that's when the fight started....
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A woman was standing nude, looking in the bedroom mirror. She was not happy with what she saw and said to her husband, 'I feel horrible; I look old, fat and ugly. I really need you to pay me a compliment.' The husband replies, 'Your eyesight's damn near perfect.'
And that's when the fight started....
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I took my wife to a restaurant. The waiter, for some reason, took my order first."I'll have the strip steak, medium rare, please." He said, "Aren't you worried about the mad cow?"" "Nah, she can order for herself."
And that's when the fight started....
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My wife and I were sitting at a table at my high school reunion, and I kept staring at a drunken lady swigging her drink as she sat alone at a nearby table.
My wife asked, 'Do you know her?'' Yes,' I sighed, 'She's my old girlfriend.. I understand she tookto drinking right after we split up those many years ago, and I hear she hasn't been sober since.
''My God!' said my wife, 'who would think a person could go on celebrating that long?'
And that's when the fight started....
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After retiring, I went to the Social Security office to apply for Social Security. The woman behind the counter asked me for my driver's license to verify my age. I looked in my pockets and realized I had left my wallet at home. I told the woman that I was very sorry, but I would have to go home and come back later.
The woman said, 'Unbutton your shirt.' So Iopened my shirt revealing my curly silver hair. She said, 'That silver hair on your chest is proof enough for me' and she processed my Social Security application.
When I got home, I excitedly told my wife about my experience at the Social Security office. She said, 'You should have dropped your pants. You might have gotten disability, too.'
And that's when the fight started....
************ ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* *******
When I got home last night, my wife demanded that I take her some place expensive... so, I took her to a gas station.
And that's when the fight started....
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My wife was hinting about what she wanted for our upcoming anniversary. She said, 'I want something shiny that goes from 0 to 200 in about 3 seconds.' I bought her a scale..
And that's when the fight started....
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My wife sat down on the couch next to me as I was flipping channels. She asked, 'What's on TV?' I said, 'Dust..'
And that's when the fight started....

Monday, June 1, 2009

hotnothot 10

walang masyadong magandang issue lately dahil karamihan puro nega. but just to keep in line with our title, banggitin ko na rin yong kay charice para hindi masabing listahan ng hotnot itong issue number 10 natin.

Hothot: no. 44 daw ang kanta ni charice sa billboard. good for her. at least isang orig na pinay ang nakasama sa billboard charts. though jocelyn enriquez and mutya buena have already been there (and on a higher spot pa), us at uk na ang dinadala nilang flag so hindi masyadong proud ang pinoy. but for charice, binabandera talaga ni oprah at david foster na isa syang talent from pinas. as a pinoy, proud ako sa achievement ng batang ito. the same way na proud ako sa ginagawa ni pacquiao para sa bansa. though personally, meron akong sariling opinions about these two. pero akin na lang yon dahil for now, let’s just be proud of these guys bringing honor and recognition to pinas. opinionated nga ako pero patriotic din naman most of the time!
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Hotnot: the champions crashing out of roland garros. the ladies defending champion ana ivanovic was hammered to a 6-2, 6-3 defeat by victoria azarenka of belarus. then the king of clay rafael nadal was sent packing by sweden’s robin soderling in a 4-set match, the first loss by nadal after a long winning streak since last year. this is not good for french open fans like me. the absence of champions makes the tournament less appealing. although this may be an opportunity for my favorite roger federer to finally win the surface he has never conquered in his career.
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Hotnot: ang pasaway na north korea. hindi paawat sa pagte-test ng kanilang nuclear missiles. sending some signals cum warning sa mga neighbor nya? south korea and japan must be on their toes right now. wag naman sanang mag-escalate into something serious ang sitwasyon. coz if ever, para tayong sisipunin dahil nasa ulunan lang natin ang mga nagliliparang missile. at dahil siguradong kasali ang usa sa eksena, we might end up getting one or two of those long range monsters dahil kilala tayong strongest ally ng us sa asia-pacific region.

Hotnot: susan boyle second lang sa britain’s got talent. after receiving more than 100million you tube views, I can’t believe she lost the competition. it was such a shock to most of the british fans and maybe to all susan boyle fans all over the world. pero sabi nga sa euronews, maybe she lost because her fans became too confident. they didn’t pick-up the phone to vote thinking that a huge number of fans will do the voting. such a costly assumption. pero kahit natalo sya, I’m sure it’s not the last we’re gonna see and hear of this talented lady.

Hotnot: the myanmar auhtorities finally ending aung san suu kyii's 6-year house arrest. eh bakit hotnot pa rin? kasi naka-kulong pa rin sya dahil sa violation nya kuno na hindi naman nya kasalanan. obviously, planted yong lalaking puti na lumangoy across the lake papunta sa bahay nya and stayed there for 2 days. para may bago na namang maika-kaso sa kanya. sa totoo lang, sobra na itong ginagawa ng mga kababayan nyang nakapuwesto sa gobyerno. 6 years without freedom is probably one of the biggest human rights offenses around. at ngayon, posibleng ikulong na naman sya. sadly, parang walang magawa ang international policing bodies versus the myanmar authorities. i wonder why.

Hotnot: nasentensyahan na ng 10 years ang kabayan natin sa dubai na nahulihan ng buto daw ng marijuana sa kanyang bagahe. noong kumakalat ang kwento nitong si kabayan sa e-mail, I thought kwentong kutsero lang. coz sino ba naman ang kakain ng grapes at ilalagay pa sa travelling bag nya ang buto then go on an international flight. not unless na gusto nyang mag-tanim sa kanilang baryo ng ubas. eh kaso nga nasabat sa dubai airport at yon nga, marijuana daw yon hindi grapes sabi ng mga dubai pulis. but just the other day, lumabas na ang balita sa dyaryo (abante yata) confirming the story at yon nga, 10 years daw ang sentensya ni kabayan. ang masakit pa, ni wala daw ma-extend na tulong ang gobyerno natin kasi walang abogado para mai-depensa si kabayan. milyones ang kinikita sa aming ofw tapos isang abogado hindi makapag-provide para maipagtanggol si kabayan? tsk, tsk, tsk.