It was my sister who originally told me of the news about the 2-year old girl who was run over twice in China. After checking my Yahoo! email I saw the headline Outrage as bleeding China toddler left on street in the Yahoo! News and I was curious to read and see how it happened. It was truly a horrifying video and looking at it makes me sick; not to mention worried about my own daughter, as well as my other nieces and nephews.

The video shows the toddler walking on the street when she was hit by the white van, crossing over the child’s dainty body. The child was helpless and three passersby were caught by the CCTV camera to have just looked without helping the poor kid. When finally, one good Samaritan came to the girl’s rescue, dragging her to the side of the street. I can still vividly imagine the soft body of the little girl bending like a piece of paper when her rescuer tried to lift her.

I didn’t bother to post the video here because it was just too much. How could these people just look at the child in that state? Reports have said that these passersby claim not seeing the child because it was too dark in the area. Really? The toddler’s rescuer was named Chen Xianmei, who’s a 57-year old mother herself who hails from Qingyuan, Guangdong province. She said she heard the little girl crying and saw her with blood on her mouth and neck. Sure the place maybe quite dark but were the passersby also too deaf to even hear the child’s cry?

Whatever happened to some of the people in this generation? Last I heard from the news is that the little girl is recovering well. Hopefully, she could thoroughly get through of her painful ordeal very soon. To the rescuer, we can only hope there’s more like her. And to the passersby…ah, it’s just hard to comment about them…lolz. I’ve read some comments that the parents of the child are the first to blame. But I guess it isn’t no longer important to start pointing fingers. Instead, the incident must be regarded as a living example that parents should always keep an eye on their children especially on those who are too young and small to even fend for themselves.

Days before the Miss Universe 2011 pageant in Sao Paulo, Brazil I already conditioned myself to wake up early on September 13 (September 12 in Brazil) to make sure I won’t miss the live telecast on STAR World. Unfortunately, on the day of the pageant, we had to rush my daughter to the hospital very early in the morning due to pneumonia. It was already 6 PM when I learned from the news that our very own Shamcey Supsup made it to the 3rd place. And guess what, we were settled in one of the private rooms of UST Hospital while watching the news feeds of Miss Universe 2011 highlights. But thank God, I was able to run across the encore episode around 10 PM on the cable channel.

Miss Philippines Shamcey Supsup after being called as one of the top 5 finalists

There’s no doubt that Shamcey Supsup has made all the Filipinos across the globe gleaming with pride. She looked every bit of a beauty queen and her so-called Tsunami walk is simply gorgeous. Came the Q & A portion, she managed to answer with relevance and grace even without the help of an interpreter. But even with her stellar performance, she only landed as 3rd runner up. So, what could have gone wrong?

I’ve read several commentaries saying that she could have perfectly nailed the question if she omitted the last part of her answer where she said “If the person loves me, he’ll love my God, too.” Some are saying that the sentence negates the essence of her overall answer; whereas, others insist she answered better than everyone else in the top 5 finalists. Even Lea Salonga, who happens to be one of the judges, was criticized for her question to Miss Angola – saying it was the easiest and dumbest question ever raised in the Miss Universe pageant.

To be honest, even if I ran late in watching the pageant, I would have to agree that Miss Angola is beautiful and had gracefully aced the Q & A portion. She’s very pretty, sashays elegantly, and speaks in a calm and confident tone. Of course, we’d be rejoicing to the highest heaven if Miss Philippines Shamcey Supsup was crowned Miss Universe 2011; but placing 3rd runner-up isn’t bad at all. Miss Philippines Venus Raj placed 4th runner-up on the 2010 Miss Universe – who knows what’s in store for us in Miss Universe 2012. In between varying opinions, we can only be grateful for the accomplishment of Shamcey Supsup and we can only hope we finally bring home the Miss Universe crown soon.

Ooops, she did it again!

Oh well, Rosanna Roces will not be the Rosanna Roces we all know today without her acerbic and scathing words. And ABS-CBN should have known better how capable she can be for saying whatever she feels like saying, even if it means getting a show suspended or axed for good. Though there is no escaping the fact that she made a very uncalled for remark against teachers in general, still, the blame should not all go to her.

Finally, I was able to watch the movie, New Moon, last night at the Trinoma mall with hubby. I was about to think that I was getting way behind the Twilight fever after failing to get a ticket last week because almost all mall screenings—both in Quezon City and Makati—were sold out.

Surprisingly, even on its second week, New Moon continues to lure a huge number of people, making its ticket sales soar even higher. And given that, I have become more excited, but only to get disappointed even before the movie rolls out its credits.

New Moon still

The first twenty minutes of the movie was fine to me and gave a faster phasing of the story. But when the movie reaches the part wherein Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) bids goodbye to Bella (Kristen Stewart), the succeeding scenes have become quite agonizing and boring to me.

First of, there’s Bella who seems so confused with her feelings between Edward and Jacob (Taylor Lautner). He was longing for Edward’s absence, and she knows she wanted him, but she also wanted Jacob to be there for her when she knows for a fact that the guy wanted her to be more than just his best friend. And to be honest, the begging part of Jacob for Bella to stay, really broke my heart.

And then there’s Victoria (Rachelle Lefevre), one of those three rouge vampires who was running after Bella since the first movie installment. Ironically, her scenes in this movie could be omitted without people noticing it.

And of course, who would forget about Dakota Fanning’s very short exposure. I can’t believe she accepted the role. Or shall I say, I don’t know if she thinks the role is somehow going to give her another award just like how her previous movies which acknowledged her acting skills in different award-giving bodies.

Funny but true, New Moon is nothing but a battle between team Bella-Edward and team Bella-Jacob. And that’s just it!

I’m excited. I have seen the first movie trailer several months ago and I have since looked forward to its up and coming release this November. Mind you, if Robert Pattinson made a lot of girls squeal—me included—in the first installment of the Twilight craze, Taylor Lautner (Jacob) will surely make a lot more girls go ga-ga this time. Geez, that bod and that piercing look are just so hot…lolz. Enjoy the clip!

Here in the Philippines, there’s Master Rapper, Francis “Kiko” Magalona, and the Mother of Democracy, former Philippine President Corazon “Tita Cory” Aquino.

In Hollywood, King of Pop Michael Jackson bid his last farewell in the early part of June, while Dirty Dancing sensation Patrick Swayze ended his battle with cancer in September. And now, as we neared towards the end of the month, the music industry was greeted with yet another shocking news of death.

Boyzone's Stephen Gately

Stephen Gately, known member of Irish boy band Boyzone—along with Ronan Keating, was found dead while on vacation in Majorca, Spain with his partner Andrew Cowles. To date, his cause of death still remains undetermined after he was supposedly found in an awkward squatting position in the sofa of an apartment he owns and shares with Cowles.

His Boyzone band mates are some of the first to express devastation with what is considered to be a “tragic” death of the singer/actor, who joined the group in 1993 and has released some of the unforgettable hitmakers in the late 90′s.

Everyone’s talking about her. Loathing her to high heavens. And probably, even cursing her to death.

But the question is, was it really Jacque Bermejo who posted the following lines: “buti n lng am hir in dubai! maybe so many sinners bak der! so yeah deserving wat hapend!” in her alleged Facebook account? Was she really behind this malicious comment, stirring the ire of hundreds of Facebook’s Pinoy users?

Below is Jacque Bermejo’s official statement in an effort to clear her name from the countless jabs she’s received from this infamous post. I guess, the girl deserves to air her side as well. After all, no one’s really sure it was her who made such abusive post in Facebook. Isn’t it just so easy to download other people’s pictures on the Internet these days and create fake accounts in any social networking websites? We all know, anyone can do that. Regardless, perhaps it won’t hurt to run the other side of story.

“I am issuing this statement to clear my name in the current controversy in which I allegedly posted a highly insensitive and offensive message on the social networking website, Facebook, in relation to the victims of typhoon Ondoy that recently struck parts of the Philippines.

About two years ago, an anonymous source created these accounts using my identity, posting my personal details, my real pictures captioned roughly and attacking other people. Because of these incidents, I reported such abuses and sent my credentials to the administrators of such sites, particularly Facebook. I have been abused and am still being abused online in social networking websites such as Facebook, Friendster, Multiply etc.

In the early stages, I was advised by close friends to ignore the situation, saying this would simply go away. Unfortunately, it has not stopped. Hence, I filed a complaint with the Dubai Police about eight months ago hoping they could help me with my problem. Should anyone wish to check my statement, my case is still under investigation with said authorities.

Time passed and these sites continued to generate malicious, obscene and cruel messages that are widely exposed and relayed to the public under my name.

Yesterday, September 27th 2009, I received phone calls from my close friends regarding very alarming posts in the above mentioned websites that directly offended flood victims as a result of typhoon Ondoy..

These malicious statement(s) which are posted under account names Jacque or Jackie are not of my doing. It is unfortunate that such statements were maliciously attributed to me and I do sympathize and understand the adverse and somehow verbally violent reaction that has been elicited by such insensitive statements or posts. Rest assured, I have taken every legal step that can be done in this regard.

I too, have become a victim as much as those who may have lost their lives and properties to such a devastating natural calamity. This recent controversy has greatly affected my reputation, my family, and my friends. I am devastated and shocked at the extent my character, my personal information and private space have been violated.

I have a deep respect and regard for my country. I am proud to be a Filipino and would never say or do anything to harm the interest of my country or countrymen. I have also had the privilege of participating in civic-oriented activities in Dubai, particularly in trying to help my fellow countrymen seek employment during the height of mass layoffs brought about by the ongoing global financial crisis, as well as those seeking employment for the first time. Making a mockery of any unfortunate incidents befalling any of my fellow Filipinos is simply contrary to my character. I condemn the person or persons behind these malicious acts to impute damage on my integrity and I hope that you can dig deep into your hearts and minds to truly find the truth in all these.”

Indeed, nature has its way of teaching its people. And when it does, it is sometimes harder than one can expect.

During the weekend, typhoon Ondoy displaces hundreds of families and flooded most areas of Metro Manila, making it the worst case of flooding seen in recent years.

vehicles afloat everywhere

Honestly, it was a scary experience to everyone. And because it was on a Saturday when the massive rainfall started, many have been stranded in their workplace, while others in their homes and eventually on their rooftop.

some more...

Between that time, I was in my parents’ residence in Sampaloc, Manila along España. It was already slightly raining on a Friday, but it turned worst on a Saturday morning, starting 10 am. And in the short span of 2 hours, water started getting inside our house.

At first, we thought it’s going to be just one of those previous cases of flood we’ve gone through. After all, living in España for years has somehow prepared us already with what to do in cases like that. But Ondoy is really strong. Not to mention scary, after it left us with a chest-high water. So far, the highest we’ve experienced.

When typhoon Milenyo directly hit Metro Manila in 2006, it was deemed the strongest in 11 years. But no one really prepared everyone with typhoon Ondoy’s strength as it turned some parts of Metro Manila, specifically Marikina into a virtual lake.

And speaking of these two typhoons, is it just a coincidence that they both happened on the month of September? Milenyo in 2006, while Ondoy three years after?

Both also resulted to a Luzon-wide blackout, flooding and landslides in some parts of the Philippines directly affected by it, thousands of stranded individuals, and overturned countless vehicles. And both also recorded more than a dozen of fatalities.

The first video I saw was a little blury, so I wasn’t quite sure with Taylor Swift’s reaction when Kanye West grabbed her mic and unabashedly said “Hey Taylor, I’m really happy for you, but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time.”

So, I checked on Youtube and found several of them being talked about. Honestly, while watching it over and over, everything looked like a joke and staged. Did I just see Beyoncé Knowles sheepishly smiling at Kanye West’s disrespectful announcement? Or was she just glamorously incredulous?

What about Taylor Swift? I’d like to think she was just all too shocked to even move and say something, but she somehow appeared to be just simply blank.

And finally, to Kanye West, he obviously got the attention he wanted, staged or not!