Monday, July 27, 2009

Melissa and Ade dance to Maxwell's "This Woman's Work" in SYTYCD

(I just edited this post coz I noticed the previously embedded video had been taken down)

One of the most powerful dance numbers I have seen on "So you think you can dance?". I won't bother writing what I think about this video, I will just let you see it and hear what the judges' comments are.


video uploaded in youtube by user DGirlEmmy

I've watched this dozens of times now, and each time, it still impresses and moves me.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Surprise, surprise

I usually skip out on the UAAP basketball frenzy coz UP never really does well in it. So I only found out through a friend that UP actually beat Ateneo 68-58. I don't really know how that happened, and I have no idea whether they can replicate that win because that was their first in four matches this season and it was Ateneo's first loss. But it's still a bit of pleasantly surprising news.

*****

And who would have thought that Lewis Hamilton winning the Hungarian Grand Prix earlier today would be a surprise? After all, he is the reigning Formula One world champion. But in the first 9 races of the 2009 season, Hamilton in his McLaren hasn't been a factor, failing to nab a podium finish. That is, until today. Lewis drove a superb race to finish way ahead of 2nd placer Kimi Räikkönen and 3rd placer Mark Webber.

This F1 weekend included a lot of other surprising events. Scariest of which was Felipe Massa being struck on the helmet by a suspension spring that had fallen off of Rubens Barrichello's race car during qualifying. Now normally, being struck by a suspension spring while wearing a helmet won't be too bad, but if you get hit while you are driving at close to 300 kph, it becomes very life-threatening. The latest info is that Massa is in stable condition so that's good news.

The other surprises - Fernando Alonso losing a tire while in the lead (I can imagine just how pissed off he must be, could've been his first title this season) and Vettel being forced to retire also due to tire problems.

Clearly, Brawn GP has lost a lot of momentum, and Red Bull Racing is now narrow the gap. I think Brawn lost the plot somehow - I think they've made some poor strategic moves in the last couple of races - and RBR have remained very consistent. Jenson Button is still ahead of the pack by 18.5 points, but his lead is starting to dwindle. Hopefully Brawn can find some of the magic they had in the first 7 races this season and get JB back on the podium.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Feast Day of St. Michael Jackson

Okay well the title of my post is a bit misleading LOL but have you seen the tribute of the Cebu inmates to Michael Jackson? If I didn't know better, I'd think I was watching some religious celebration.

The original full video is apparently not available in my country so here's a shorter version of it:


video uploaded in youtube by user salaso2007

It's been a week and a half since Michael Jackson passed away but it's still making headlines all over the world. He truly is a legend. But while I immensely appreciate his talent and music, I'm in the minority in that I don't totally grieve his death. While his pedophilia was never proven, a lot of the other stuff - like MJ dangling his baby outside a window or him publicly denying that he had work done on his nose or his decision to change his skin color (why didn't he just have his "white spots" darkened instead of lightening his complexion?) - prevent me from feeling as bad about his passing on as the rest of the world. I surely do feel sorry for him though as the abuse he experienced in his childhood certainly contributed to his lack of stability His prolonged exposure in the limelight couldn't have helped him any.

Still, Michael Jackson will go down in history as one of the most influential music legends of all time. And I certainly do hope he is in a better place now.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Marathon #6. Woo-hoo!

Can't you believe it? I've done it six times now, running 42 kilometers for charity. Amazing!

Last July 5, I ran my sixth marathon for a cause, raising more than PHP 72,000 for charity patients in the Philippine General Hospital. You can read more about how my run went in my other blog:

photo courtesy of my friend Petite

I didn't have bike support for the first time this year so I don't have a lot of photos. One of my friends, Petite, was in a support station along the route and took a few photos, so here's proof of my run.

Thanks again to all my family and friends for the amazing support, encouragement, and generosity! :)