Kamote, Kalabaw

On December 7, the Filipino nation was jubilant about Manny Pacquiao's victory over dela Hoya in what their promoter's called The Dream Match. GMA Network, the current home network of Manny Pacquiao would have been one of the most jubilant. Loyal viewers of the network would have expected numerous TV celebratory segments just like in Manny's previous victories. However, on that particular Sunday, celebrities and stars of the network could not show such jubilation because one of their colleagues died on that day. No matter how hard these celebrities tried to celebrate the nation's victory in world boxing, they could not help but be sad about Marky Cielo. They were more affected about their lost in the entertainment industry than the victory of Pacquiao. Part of the nation lamented for Marky's death. Marky Cielo died of an undisclosed cause. His mother found him lifeless inside his room the morning of December 7. She brought him to the Antipolo Medical Hospital but wa...

Pinaka-bonggang Spa sa Pilipinas. "Ang Pinaka" (QTV, Quezon City) ranks the top 10 glorious spa in the Philippines. Chi Spa, Edsa Shangrila, Mandaluyong, www.shangri-la.com The Spa at Mandarin Oriental, Makati, www.mandarinoriental.com Mandala Spa, www.mandalaspa.com Tirta, Boracay, www.tirtaspa.com The Spa, www.thespa.com.ph Amezcua Wellness Center, Katipunan, Quezon City, www.amezcuawellness.com Ylang-Ylang Spa, Pearl Farm Resort, Davao, www.pearlfarmresort.com Sonya's Garden Spa, Alfonso, Cavite, www.sonyasgarden.com Sanctuario Spa, Bocobo, Malate, www.sanctuario.com.ph North Haven Spa, Ferguson Road, Baguio, www.northhavenspa.com

The Philippine Eagle or Haribon can only be found in the Philippines. It is the world's largest eagle. Unfortunately, it is endangered; around 200 survive in the wild forests of the Philippines. Unlike other eagles, haribon needs a 100 km perimeter in order to breed. Other than the haribon, there are more animals special to Philippines. Some of these rare animals are endemic to Philippines. Most of them are endangered. You may click the link if you want more information about the animal. Philippine Eagle or Haribon   Tarsier   Whale Shark or Butanding   Palawan Mouse Deer or Pilandok   Dugong   Tamaraw   Philippine Crocodile or Bukarot   Philippine Cockatoo or Katala   Civet Cat or Alamid   Golden Crowned Flying Fox or Kabog   Palawan Peacock Pheasant or Tandikan   Northern Luzon Giant Cloud Rat or Bu-ot   Palawan Bearcat or Binturong   Giant Clam or Taklobo   Sinarapan   If you like the Philippin...

Another TV program that I enjoy watching is 100% Pinoy (GMA Network / Kapuso Channel). This TV magazine show showcases everything about Filipinos can be proud of: people, places, culture, products, food, heritage, arts, natural resources, tourists' spots, language, islands, etc. The show is hosted by Joaquin Valdes and Miriam Quiambao (Bb. Pilipinas 1st runner-up, Miss Universe 1st Runner-up). (Trivia: The Bb. Pilipinas-Universe winner then was stripped of her title. As a result, Bb. Pilipinas Charities sent instead Miriam Quiambao to the Miss Universe Pageant.) Today's episode featured Ilocus Norte and Ilocos Sur. Ilocos is a 9-hour drive from Manila. Places or things of interests are: Paoay Church , made of limestones and coral stones, a heritage site of UNESCO Marcos Museum and Mausoleum in Batac Ride a calesa in Laoag and visit the sinking bell tower Tagudin sundials built by the Spaniards in 1841 Nuestra Senora de Asuncion Church, a UNESCO heritage site Calle Criso...

The 4th Episode of OBRA wasn't worth watching. No question about the acting of Katrina Halili, who played a mental patient, and Paolo Contis; they're both good. What I didn't like was how the script was written for 4 reasons. One, a mental patient tied to his/her bed won't be able to untie him/herself easily. The writers should know how mental patients behave. Two, the mental patient was able to escape the institution. It's corny but I can forgive that. But what I cannot accept is the patient's behavior. A mental patient won't escape like a normal person would. Three, what is that knife doing in a child's bedroom? Uh-uh! That's a stupid preparation. Four, the worst of it all, would a hostage specialist shoot outright a mental patient as if he killed a dog? Even killing a dog would raise the anger of PAWS. Who ever directed this episode, I am disappointed at him. It's his work. It should be his Obra. Sorry, this isn't a masterpiece. Photo abov...

Eric Clapton's Change The World is one song that when you listen to it, the rhythm goes into your system - makes you snap your fingers, swing your head, sway your shoulders, and really dance to the tune. Play the video (c/o YouTube ) and sing with Eric. You'll find the lyrics (c/o Lyrics007 ) below. Change The World If I could reach the stars Pull one down for you Shine it on my heart so you could see the truth That this love I have inside is everything it seems But for now I find it's only in my dreams CHORUS: That I can change the world I would be the sunlight in your universe You will think my love was really something good Baby if I could change the world If I could be king even for a day I'd take you as my queen I'd have it no other way And our love will rule in this kingdom we have made Till then I'd be a fool wishing for the day CHORUS: That I can change the world I would be the sunlight in your universe You will think my love was really something goo...

OBRA: Katrina Halili is Misteryosa Congratulations to the premiere episode of Obra with Katrina Halili. The show showcased the true creative talents of Filipino artists. GMA-7 should have more of this. This is the kind of show that I surely missed since Telesine Presents. I'm not sure if I remember the title right. Years ago, GMA-7 aired every Sunday special movies made for television. They even held awards nights. Maybe, GMA7 should bring this back. In the pilot episode of Obra (Misteryosa), Katrina Halili played a schizophrenic. In the middle of the story, I already had a hunch that Rosario and Rosanna were one because the story reminded me of "Tagos", the movie which Vilma Santos starred in. Nevertheless, I enjoyed watching the short story because of how it was directed, how the script was written, how the location set was designed, and how the visual color was filtered. It wasn't boring. Plus, all the actors played well. Truly, it was an Obra!

Gretchen Espina of Biliran (Visayas) won the first Pinoy Idol. She received a recording contract from Sony-BMG, a management contract from GMA Artists Center, a condominium unit from Avida Land, a car, and one million pesos from SM Malls - a total of 5.7 million pesos. Congratulations! I was not very thrilled about the finals of Pinoy Idol especially right after Ram was eliminated. This is the sad thing about text voting. It works like a popularity contest where the one who wins is the one who was able to sell the most tickets. So, if you don't have much money, sorry, you cannot vote as much as you want to. In American Idol, our favorites are usually eliminated first. Ryan Seacrest would constantly remind the viewers to vote for their favorites so that they don't end up being eliminated. Last year, Ryan Cayabyab reminded the viewers of Philippine Idol to vote for the one who had true talent. Miguel, a rich kid from LaSalle, was one of the hopefuls then. He wasn't that good ...

Between Jayann and Gretchen, the latter has a better sounding voice. Gretchen's voice is more solid. Jayann's voice cuts like a knife - very throaty. Nevertheless, there are other pinoy idol hopefuls who were a lot better than Gretchen or Jayann. The two sang the Pinoy Idol's signature song, which was composed by Ogie Alcasid. Gretchen's version was a lot better than Jayann's. Between the two, Gretchen is my Pinoy Idol.

I failed to note the songs that the final 3 sang during the gala night. Ram performed an Aerosmith's song as suggested by Jaya. This is Ram's best performance. It was a slow roch that he sang from his heart. He also sang Handog by Florante. It wasn't that good. Jayann, I think, sang "Walk With Faith" as suggested by Regine Velasquez (her winning piece). Jayann didn't do well. I don't remember at all what Gretchen sang. Kid should have been part of the Final 3, instead of Jayann or Gretchen. I believe, some of those who were eliminated earlier in the Top 24 deseved to be in the Final 3. That's the sad thing. Idol is about idolizing a personality; it's not about talent. "Handog" was composed and popularized by the late Florante. The song is about leaving a legacy, which is the songwriter's songs. Indeed, Florante's songs left a mark in the music industry. "Handog", truly, is a gift. When I heard Ram sang the song, "Oh...

I noticed that songs of goodbye are somewhat cursed. In American Idol, if an idol hopeful sang a song about going home or saying goodbye, he or she is eliminated the next day. Sorry, if I couldn't recall an instance, but that's my general observation. In the latest season of American Idol, somebody sang "I'm Going Home" by Michael Buble. The next day, he went home. In Pinoy Idol, Daryl sang The Promise, which has a theme of parting. Kid sang "Careless Whisper", which also has a theme of saying goodbye. Kid and Daryl were eliminated the next day.

Daryl Celis' rendition of "The Promise" was OK. His past two performances were better. In this episoded, Daryl talked to his dad over the phone after 4 years of not seeing him. His mom used to call him "idol" when he was a child. Gretchen Espina is a member of UP Singing Ambassadors. Kid Camaya did a vocally-good version of "Careless Whisper" by George Michael. He has around 25 siblings. Jayann Bautista was shaky at first when she sang "Finally" but recovered during the latter part. Ram Chaves, as expected, rocked again with Francis M's rap "Yugyugan". Ram's performance is the best among the five. As usual, he was confident on stage; he was performing, not competing. He has a character. He has a band called "Sutil". I would rate Ram with 5 stars (best). Kid and Jayann deserves 4.5 stars. Daryl and Gretchen, 4 stars. Indeed, they have improved a lot.

Arnell: Ano ang Tagalog ng "engineer"? Jeremy Marquez: Indyanero!

Here's a list of celebrities who moved from ABS-CBN to GMA-7 and are still active in GMA-7. Heart Evangelista, Eula Valdez, Michelle Madrigal, Angelica Cruz, Marvin Agustin, Jolina Magdangal, Dennis Trillo, Alfred Vargas, Jean Garcia, Camille Pratts, Paolo Contis, Joseph Bitongcol, Hero Angeles, Manny Pacquiao, Ariel Rivera, Eat Bulaga family, Mel Tiangco, Rhea Santos, Ivan Mayrina (he was my officemate in Ayala Corporation), Richard Gomez, Joey Marquez, Bearwin Meily, Butch Francisco, John Lapus, Connie Singson, Arnell Ignacio, Ricky Lo, Pia Guanio, Eagle, Charlene Gonzales, Eugene Domingo, Robin Padilla, Bianca King, Carlo Aquino, Marco Alcaraz, Dominic Roco, Felix Roco, Gio Alvarez, Gladys Reyes, Patrick Garcia, and Pauleen Luna.

Marian Rivera is the hottest star of GMA7. The first time I saw her was in Tape, Inc's afternoon drama (after Daisy Siete), also in GMA7. She was with Camille Pratts, Ehra Madrigal, Oyo Boy Sotto, Kempee de Leon, and AJ Eigenmann. Marian looked matured for her age. Maybe, that's the reason why she was always cast as a mother like in Super Twins (with Dennis Trillo, Jennilyn Mercado, and Nadine Samonte) and Muli (with Alfred Vargas and a Malaysian actress). I noticed her acting and beauty when she was transformed as a villain in Super Twins. Her break when she was cast a lead role in Marimar, a Filipino version of the Mexican TV-novel of the same name. Marimar, the Pinoy version, holds the highest rating so far (50%) in primetime television. Currently, her primetime TV Mars Ravelo's Dyesebel airs weekdays around 8:30 PM on GMA7. If you want to know more about Marian Rivera, simply Google the Net and you'll find numerous sites and information about her. Photo is from cain...

August 17 is the Finals Night for Pinoy Idol. The Final 3 will perform on that night, which is two weeks from now. That means, one or two will be eliminated tonight. So, who will be? Maybe, it's Jayann Bautista or Warren Antig. It's Warren Antig. Warren almost backed out during the audition. Now, he reached the Final 6. Here's Warren's best performance - a reggae version of "Urong-Sulong".

Classic Pinoy Expressions One of the new TV shows that I enjoy watching these days is "Ang Pinaka". It's a top 10 list of anything. Today's episode was about the top 10 classic Pinoy expressions. Susmaryosep! Grabe! Kumusta naman...! Naks naman! Apir! Charing! Manigas ka! Ma at pa! Hanep! Bahala ka! We inherited "susmaryosep" from the Spaniards - "Jesus, Maria y Jose" - an expression equivalent to "Oh! My God!" or "Diyos ko!" in Tagalog. The English speakers use the same expression as "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph". The Filipinos during the Spanish era often heard the Spaniards exclaim "Jesus, Maria y Jose"; but, for the Filipino ears, it sounded like "susmaryosep". Nowadays, the expression is used in a disrespectful way which I find it blasphemous. So, personally, I don't use it. The expression has evolved to "susmarya", "susme", "sus", "asus". Whatever its f...

Tonight's performances on Pinoy Idol were songs popularized by premier balladeer Basil Valdez, known for hard-to-sing signature songs. Jayann Bautista sang first. Her version of "You" was weak in the first part of the song. It went better towards the end except for a few out-of-tune notes. I agreed with Jolina Magdangal and Ogie Alcasid. Jayann put so much style in her version that the song sounded "confusing". It could have been better if it sounded simpler. Kid Camaya did a R&B version of "Paano Ba Ang Mangarap". He did justice to the song. Though he performed a close version of Basil's, a few touches of flavor made it sound his own. A few notes sounded flat or sharp; on the other hand, may be not for the reason that songs of Basil Valdez are known to have a few notes that sound like flat or sharp. Ram Chaves of Cagayan de Oro sang a reggae version of "Ngayon at Kailanman". Though he did a good performance, the difficulty of the son...

I stumbled upon this video on YouTube while searching for "Pinoy Idol". The moment I heard the very first few notes of the boy, I was mesmerized, tears welled in my eyes. Fantastic, angelic voice!

I was searching the YouTube for "pinoy idol". It gave me more than 3,000 results. I wanted to know which video had the highest hits and I found this video on the top list - an audition of 13 year old boy Andrew Johnston at the "Britain's Got Talent". The moment I heard the very first few notes, I was mesmerized. This is what talent is all about. The voice comes from within his heart and soul.