Manilyn Reynes Talks About Ghosts

Wrote about Manilyn Reynes in my GMA Pinoy TV column (that's www.gmapinoytv.com/karma just in case you want to bookmark it -- hint hint).

I love Mane. I grew up watching her movies (but not watching her on That's) and was thrilled to find out that she's really nice in person. I haven't told her that I did part of my thesis on some of her movies though, because it might freak her out. Or maybe not. I told Allan K I saw his stand up comedy act once as a child. He seemed pleased, though I think I made him feel old.

Who knew that me, who was terribly shy and who hated showbiz and local TV and couldn't speak Tagalog to save my life would end up in TV? I guess that Feng Shui expert we had over in High School was right -- I *would* end up in media. Our ancestors were geniuses!

Letter to Britney Spears

Dear Britney,

Why, oh, why do you do this to yourself? Kevin was a big mistake, which I forgave you for that because love is blind sometimes. You have no idea how happy you made me when you finally divorced him. Now I don't like the idea of divorce but if it meant ruining your life with that good for nothing bum, then it's a good way to go. But now I hear you're hanging out with *gasp* that Hilton girl. Have you no shame? Have you dignity? Have you no class? I fear for you and your sons. I hope that you someday wake up and realize how stupid you've been and start making hits like "Baby One More Time" again. If ever you decide to come back, I and the rest of our fans (at least those that haven't performed harikiri after reading about all that you've gotten up to) will be waiting for you.

Signed,

Glossgirl

Yes, I have a soft spot for Momma of the Year Spears. You hear me, Britney! It's not too late!

In other news, I hear that Take That, sans Robbie Williams, will be touring again. Here's their sked, which I got off News of the World:

6/7/07 - Manchester M.E.N. Arena (to be confirmed)
7/7/07 - Manchester M.E.N. Arena (to be confirmed)
8/7/07 - Manchester M.E.N. Arena (to be confirmed)
13/7/07 - Wembley Arena: London
14/7/07 - Wembley Arena: London
15/7/07 - Wembley Arena: London
20/7/07 - Omnisport: Paris
21/7/07 - Omnisport: Paris
22/7/07 - Omnisport: Paris

Is this a one time thing or will they be... back for good? (Sorry, couldn't resist!)

My Last Shameless Self-Promotion for the Year

I'll keep it short and sweet:

The holiday issue of Gusto (The mag I'm Editor-in-Chief of) is out. Shopwise members can grab a free copy at any Shopwise Customer Service. This issue has Dawn Zulueta on the cover. It's got stickers inside that correspond to discoutns on certain items, plus features on Toni Gonzaga, Salsa (the dance, not the food), surfing, what to bring to a pot luck party, how to keep sane during the holidays, plus lots more.

The December-January issue of Fudge is out. It's my first time to write for the mag. It's a two-cover issue -- Up dharma Down and Kamikazee. I did the story on Up dharma Down. I love those kids. They're so sweet. Ean is single and looking, by the way, just in case anyone is interested.

The Philippine Speculative Fiction Volume 2 Book Launch will be this Sunday, December 10, 2006 - 3PM at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in The Promenade, Greenhills. My story, "The Child Abandoned," is in it. According to Dean Alfar's blog, "next week, the anthology will be available at Fully Booked, Comic Quest, Booktopia, mag:net magazine stores, Ayala MuseumShop, and the Filipinas Heritage Library, with other venues coming soon."

Whee! :D

Did I miss anything? I hope not.

The Last Chinese Medicine Talk

Zero-in: A Convergence of Five at Five
Herbs, Harmony and Health: An Exhibit on Traditional Chinese Medicine

Date: December 10, 2006 (Sunday) 2:30pm
Guest Speaker: Dr. Liu Shengrong
Topic: Prevention and Natural Healing

Venue: Kaisa Heritage Center

Anda corner Cabildo Streets, Intramuros 1002 Manila, Philippines

Dr. Liu Shengrong was a Chinese Medicine Physician in China. She has practiced Chinese Medicine for 15 years and received her Master’s degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) from Academy of Chinese Culture & Health Sciences in Oakland, California. USA. She is a California licensed acupuncturist and certified in Acupuncture and Herbology by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, USA. She is the member of Philippine College for the Advancement in Medicine Foundation Inc. (PCAM). She now teaches Traditional Chinese Medicine & Acupuncture in UERM and practicing TCM in Makati and Quezon City.

For details, please contact. Vivian or Doris at 526-6796 / 526-6798.

Ang Pinakanakakainis na Exam sa Balat ng Lupa

My last "Got this in my mail" post. My favorites: Music, Sociology, and the Math bonus question. :)

WORLD HISTORY

Describe the history of the papacy from its origins to the present day, concentrating especially, but not exclusively, on itssocial, political, economic, religious, and philosophical impact on Europe, Asia, America, and Africa. Be brief and concise, yet specific.

ASTRONOMY

Define the universe; give three examples.

MEDICINE

You will be provided with a razor blade, a piece of gauze, and a bottle of Scotch. Remove your appendix. Do not suture until your work has been inspected. You have 15 minutes.

COMPUTER SCIENCE

Write a fifth-generation computer language. Using this language, create a computer program to finish the rest of this exam for you. [O, block S kaya ba natin?]

PUBLIC SPEAKING

Twenty-five hundred riot-crazed aborigines are storming the classroom. Calm them. You may use any ancient language except Latin, Hebrew, or Greek.

CIVIL ENGINEERING

This is a practical test of your design and building skills. With the boxes of toothpicks and glue present, build a platform that will support your weight when you and your platform are suspended over a vat of nitric acid.

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

The disassembled parts of a howitzer have been placed in a box on your desk. You will also find an instruction manual, printed in Swahili. In 10 minutes a hungry Bengal tiger will be admitted to the room. Take whatever action you feel is appropriate. Be prepared to justify your decision.

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

You will be placed in a nuclear reactor and given a partial copy of the electrical layout. The electrical system has been tampered with. You have seventeen minutes to find the problem and correct it before the reactor melts down.

BIOLOGY

Create life. Estimate the differences in subsequent human culture if this form of life had developed 500,000 years earlier, with special attention to the probable effect, if any, on the Philippine social spectrum circa 1640. Prove your thesis.

RELIGION

Perform a miracle. Creativity will be judged.

MUSIC

Write a full piano concerto. Orchestrate and perform it with a flute and drum. You will find a piano under your seat.

LOGIC

Take a position for or against truth. Prove the validity of your position.

CHEMISTRY

You must identify a poison sample which you will find at your lab table. All necessary equipment has been provided. There are two beakers at your desk, one of which holds the antidote. If the wrong substance is used, it causes instant death. You may begin as soon as the professor injects you with a sample of the poison.

PSYCHOLOGY

Based on your knowledge of their early works, evaluate the emotional stability, degree of adjustment, and repressed frustrations of each of the following: Alexander of Aphrodisias, Ramses II, Gregory of Nicea, and Hammurabi. Support your evaluations with quotations from each man's work, making appropriate references. Translate all quotations in Tagalog.

SOCIOLOGY

Identify the sociological problems which might be associated with the end of the world. Construct an experiment to test your theory.

ECONOMICS

Describe in four hundred words or less what you would have done to prevent the Great Depression.

MATHEMATICS

You have 60 seconds to mentally solve the mathematical problem below. Begin.

8,256.091 + _________ - ________ x ________ ¸ ________ =-38.07623

(Bonus question: Why is 11 not pronounced onety one? Provide a full numerical analysis in justifying your answer.)

POLITICAL SCIENCE

There is a red telephone on the desk beside you. Start World War III. Report at length on its socio-political effects, if any.

ART

Given one eight-count box of crayons and three sheets of notebook paper, recreate the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Skin tones should be true to life.

PHYSICS

Explain the nature of matter. Include in your answer an in-depth evaluation of the impact of the development of mathematics on science.

METAPHYSICS

Describe in detail the nature of life after death. Test your hypothesis.

PHILOSOPHY

Sketch the development of human thought. Estimate its significance. Compare with the development of any other kind of thought.

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

Describe in detail. Be objective and specific.

Useful ATM Knowledge

Got this in my mail, too. It's something everyone with an ATM should be aware of... if it even works. :P

If you should ever be forced by a robber to withdraw money from an ATM machine, you can notify the police by entering your PIN number in reverse order. For example if your pin number is 1234 then you would put in 4321.

The ATM recognizes that your pin number is backwards from the ATM card you placed in the machine.

The machine will still give you the money you requested, but unknown to the robber, the police will be immediately dispatched to help you.

This information was recently broadcasted on TV and it states that it is seldom used because people don't know it exists.

Please pass this along to everyone possible.

GMANews.TV is best media website

Got this in my mail. Congrats to the News Team! I used to write for them, you know. :) Talked to one of the editors today, they're up for another award, this time for investigative journalism. Apparently, they even beat PCIJ! Way to go, guys!

P.S. Forgine the messy links -- I was too lazy to HTML them. *sheepish grin*


GMANews.TV (www.gmanews.tv), the official news website of GMA Network, on Thursday night won the Best Website in the Media category of the 9th Philippine Web Awards, a yearly event staged by Media G8way Corp. (MGC).

The People's Choice Award, chosen through SMS and online voting by the public, went to The Official UNTV-37 Website (www.untvweb.com).

Named the Most Popular Website of the Year, based on SMS and online voting, was The Official Website of Ang Dating Daan (www.angdatingdaan.com)

A total of 60 websites made it to the finals. Local and foreign judges then evaluated all the finalists by Dec. 1. The scores of each finalist were then tabulated by the Isla Lipana & Co., a member firm of PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Malou Mangahas, editor in chief of GMANews.TV, and Jose Torres, the website's managing editor, received the plaque from hosts JM Rodriguez and Sheryll Crystal.

Because MGC imposed 10-word acceptance speeches, Mangahas limited herself to this sentence: "To Filipinos all over the world, this is /serbisyong totoo bente-kwatro oras/ (true service 24 hours a day)."

Those words were awarded at the end of the ceremonies as the Best 10-Word Speech. Mangahas then made another brief speech: "/Dahil hindi natutulog ang balita, ang GMANews.TV ay gising bente-kwatro oras/ (Because news events never sleep, GMANews.TV is on the alert 24 hours)."

Earlier in the evening three websites earned the distinction of winning both the Best Website and People's Choice Award in their respective

categories:

• Lifestyle and Leisure - Ang Pamana: The Inheritance

(www.angpamana-theinheritance-movie.com)

• Schools- Mapua Institute of Technology (www.mapua.edu.ph)

• e-Government - Bulacan provincial govenrment (www.bulacan.gov.ph)

Other local government units awarded for their websites were Naga City, Lagait town in Misamis Oriental, and Infanta town in Quezon.

It was the first time in the history of the PWA that LGUs were honored.

According to the PWA website, the category was included in a partnership signed between MGC, the National Computer Center (NCC), and the Commission on Information and Communication Technology (CICT).

The other winners:

• Corporate - Verdana Homes Mamplasan (www.verdanamamplasan.com.ph) • Corporate, People's Choice - Ayala Land (www.ayalaland.com)

• Banking and Finance - China Bank Online (www.chinabank.ph) • Banking and Finance, People's Choice - Unionbankph.com

(www.unionbankph.com)

• SME - Holy Cow! Animation (www.holycowanimation.com) • SME, People's Choice - 19East Bar & Grill (www.19east.com)

• Arts and Portfolio - Anino Shadowplay Collective (anino.sining.net) • Arts and Portfolio, People's Choice - Stephanie Coyuito Photography

(www.stephaniecoyuito.com)

• Organizations - Ilustrador ng Kabataan (ink.group.ph) • Organizations, People's Choice - Ang Dating Daan (www.angdatingdaan.com)

• Community and Portal - E-YellowPages (www.eyp.ph) • Community and Portal, People's Choice - Kaanib.net (www.kaanib.net)

• Blogs - Touched by an Angel (aboutmyrecovery.com) • Blogs, People's Choice - Sexy Nomad (sexynomad.i.ph/blogs/sexynomad/)

• Celebrities and Personalities - Journey With Terry The Tarsier

(www.terrythetarsier.com)

• Celebrities and Personalities - The Official Website of Daniel Razon

(www.danielrazon.com)

• Personal - Joey Alaiza Personal Website (joeyalaiza.com) • Personal, People's Choice - Superluwi - Pinoy na Astig

(www.superluwi.com)

Website owners consider the PWA as a stepping stone to the Annual Webby Awards, a global event that the BBC hailed as "the most prestigious award in the world."

The PWA presenters were Jaime Garchitorena and Gelli Mateo, Pinky Amador and Ibarra "Bombing" Gutierrez (MGC president and CEO of MGC) Francine Prieto and Monchito Ibrahim (president of the Philippine Computer Society).

Performing in between presentation of the awards were the Fil-Australian band DNA Rock, Helen, and Join The Club.

Recently, MGC president Gutierrez was appointed Webbys Ambassador for the Philippines. Webby Ambassadors are a group of Internet supporters and entrepreneurs in over 15 countries, serving as a "voice on the ground" in their area.

The awarding were held at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium Podium 4, RCBC Plaza in Makati.*-GMANews.TV*