LSS

joining the ranks of macarena, and kapag tumibok of puso...

UPCAT

Showing: Dec. 3-18, 2008
Only at Robinson's Galleria.


hay! namiss ko tuloy ang elbi...
potek, higit kalahati ng buhay ko andun ako

bastusan

kung totoo ngang may ganto, hindi sila tao...


from Secret (2007)

go NASTIA!

finally, olympic champion.

(photo: nbcolympics.com)

can't believe she had the top score in floor despite her ankle injury (in 2006). 3 more event (beam, bars, floor) finals to go girl!

i watched the competition online. shawn johnson (US) and yang yilin (CHN) and ksenia semenova (RUS) were great as well. it's a 1-2 finish for USA as expected. here's the final result from nbcolympics.com.

newsflash: twister hit los banos, laguna

last year, i've been ranting about how i hate the current world's climate. well, i haven't got any weather complaints lately as it has been raining every afternoon. but i got a text message from my mom. bad news - a twister hit my hometown, my dear los banos. no article from inquirer.net yet but a "kababayan" has posted a video in youtube.


the video says the twister formed at 4pm. according to my mom, it hit the areas of umali subd, trace college, anos, and bayan. God! hope no one's hurt.

let the games begin!

one day to go before the olympics. can't wait! of course, among the spectator sports like synchronized swimming and rhythmic gymnastics, i'm dying to watch the women's artistic gymnastics competition (WAG). well, my fascination with WAG started because of this girl during the 1996 olympics.

(source: http://isportspix.com/2008/04/04/svetlana-khorkina-picture-gallery)

yes, it is the queen of bars, svetlana khorkina. no, she wasn't wearing that in competition! anyway, i've seen her performed her optional floor exercises and she simply took my breath away. that time aside from the optional competitions, gymnasts were still required to perform compulsary exercises (gymnasts performing the same routine).

- - -

well, so much has changed on my favorite sport. first, gone are the days of perfection. yup, no more perfect 10 like nadia. say hello to 14's (mediocre), 15's (safe) and 16's (possible medal).scoring has been changed in the code of points (read: the rule book). since 2006 world championships, there are 2 kinds score that a gymnast can receive. the A panel score (additive) which is all about the difficulty - meaning the harder the skill, the higher the score. aside from difficulty, connection of movements/bonus points are also in included in A panel. the B panel, however, is the execution score. basically, it rates how a gymnast perform a skill. this scores is deductive from a perfect score of 10. deductions are counted from unpointed toes during tumbling (0.1 deduction) to a fall on a skill (0.8). final score is the sum of the A panel and B panel scores.

the new scoring was due to the controversy in the men's all around competition in the 2004 olympics. korea's yang tae young was given a start value of 9.9 in the parallel bars instead of 10. a 0.1 difference cost him to just take the bronze medal instead of the gold. the international gymnastics federation (FIG) suspended the 3 judges who made the mistake, but paul hamm (the all around winner during the games) kept the gold. the FIG standardized the scoring for both the men and women. other than this controversy, the difference in the level of difficulty among the exercises the gymnasts are performing also led to the establishment of the new system.

for the equipment, bars has changed since nadia. during her time, there was just a narrow opening between the low and high bars. well, the bars hasn't changed since 2004 olympics but some of my readers may have fallen as sleep for about 30 years so i think it's worth mentioning.

in the 2000 olympics, many gymnasts got injured during the all-around competition because the vault was set 5 centimeters lower than the standard height. so no more side-horse vaults. we now have the vaulting table which is both used by men and women.

(source: www.fig-gymnastics.com)

since 70's the beam and floor has improved as well, with the inclusion of springs on the apparatus.

with today's level of competition, the artistry in artistic gymnastics is literally a thing of the past. wish i could see more of this, this and this instead of this and this. only a few gymnasts like my current fave, nastia liukin, can still combine difficulty and artistry.

- - -

i am no expert on the sport. luckily, i found a beginner's guide to today's gymnastics. according to the author, "Gymnastics is a dynamic, always-evolving sport. It's about power, beauty, grace, athleticism, virtuosity, and, perhaps most of all, innovation. A, uh, great PHILOSOPHER once noted that the best example of this is how, in gymnastics, when you're the first to "climb a particular mountain" (do a skill no one else has done) they name it after you in celebration. This is one of the many reasons that the style of gymnastics, the rules, the skills, and even the athletes all evolve quickly and constantly." good thing, the author was able to describe the new scoring better on different four apparatus - "Women's Artistic Gymnastics is performed on four apparatus. EACH ONE MORE DEADLY THAN THE LAST."

anyway, here's the dummy guide about the women's vault, bars, beam and floor.

stick it

sa kainitan ng panahon (kahit bumabagyo bagyo na sa ibang parte ng 'pinas), hindi na ako nakalabas para bumili ng piratang dibidi. (ok, sana hindi ako mahuli nina edu.) wala kasi kaming kaybol (dahil sayang a weekend lang may tao sa bahay) kaya sinusulit na lang namin ang dibidi player namin.

imbis na mainip sa walang katapusang tv series, lumang pelikula na lang ang pinanood namin. syempre, anu pa ba ang papanoorin ko kundi yung may walang katapusang pagtambling-tambling. napanood na naming magkakapatid ang bring it on nung nakaraang linggo (take note: kumpleto kami sa 4 na titles at pinanood namin silang lahat), nakapag-step-up marathon na rin kami, pati you got served at stomp the yard tapos na; ultimo ice skating movies na cutting edge (1 and 2), ice princess, at ice castles ay napagsawaan na namin. so, no choice kundi ang ever payborit kong stick it ang pinanood namin.

syempre, dahil sa mahilig akong manood ng paulit ulit ng mga pelikula, lagi na lang akong tinatawanan sa bahay lalo na sa mga eksenang tinatawanan ko pa rin kahit ilang beses ko nang napapanood. e sa yun ang gusto ko e! anyway, eto yung isang part na aliw na aliw ako (panoorin nyo yung chinese-american girl):


katuwa di ba? super pasaway!

speaking of pasaway, heto yung mga clips na sumisira sa paborito kong isports. hay! subukan bang pagsamahin ang dalawang magkaibang klase ng sports! nakakapanggalaiti talaga!


kung hindi ba naman nagpapakamatay sa haba ng routine yung babae... saka, patawa yung camera tricks.. super halata!

at heto pa, syempre hindi magpapahuli ang mga pinoy sa pagpapasaway. ewan ko ba, pero ang bobo talaga nung gumawa nung commercial na ito:


anyway, olympic season na... hindi na ko makapag-intay panuorin ang mga paborito kong manlalaro...

in grandfather's shoes

i haven't got anything to post lately...

anyway, here is licad's performance of her grandfather's (buencamino) piece "larawan" (portrait).

just sharing...

emote emote muna...

laudate dominum

amen!

play on tags

tired of creating playlists and organizing files on your mp3 player? well, i am. so i got this:
MP3Tag

Mp3tag is a powerful and yet easy-to-use tool to edit ID3-tags and OGG Comments of MP3- and Ogg Vorbis files. It can rename files based on the tag information, replace characters or words from tags and filenames, import/export tag information, create playlists and more. The program supports online freedb database lookups for selected files, allowing you to automatically gather proper tag information for select files or CDs (if available). Other formats supported include AAC, MPEG 4, FLAC, MOnkeys Audio and more.

it's free!

mathematical analysis

here


far better than solving fourier series or laplace problems.

thanks arjay for posting... ;)

ken lee

you'll know if it's going to be a fun week when the first email you receive from your boss links to something like this:


at syempre pa, hindi magpapatalo sa confidence level ang sarili nating beauty queens:

finding nemo

i'm amazed to find live recordings of cecille licad's performance in isabella stewart gardner museum.

• Chopin: 12 Études, Op. 10
• Chopin: Scherzo for piano No. 1 in B minor, Op. 20
• Chopin: Nocturne for piano No. 13 in C minor, Op. 48, No. 1
• Liszt: Mephisto Waltz No. 1 for piano, S. 514 (arr. Busoni)

here's the link:
http://www.gardnermuseum.org/music/artist/licad.asp

what's new

my multiply.

my new addiction.

seeing grey

i badly need to see grey's season 4, but i can't find any full episodes in youtube. help!

checking my mail

Just received this article from an email… An eye opener… Makes me wonder where my taxes go… Hmmm… Ok, I’ll just pretend I didn’t see my pay slip today.

- - -
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2007/june/12/yehey/opinion/20070612opi4.html


VIRTUAL REALITY
By Tony Lopez
The evil of dynasties


Just how bad dynasties are to the economy and the country can be gleaned from the amount of taxpayers’ money these people have access to.

Take the Senate. There will be siblings—Pia and Alan Cayetano. In addition, Alan’s wife, Laarni, took his old congressional seat from Taguig. There will probably be a father-and-son senator—Nene Pimentel and Koko Pimentel. The No. 2 most popular senator, Chiz Escudero, has his father, Sonny, as congressman from Sorsogon, his son’s old turf. Ed Angara is senator; his son and namesake is a congressman.

A senator draws P200 million in pork barrel; a congressman, P70 million. Therefore, Pia, Alan and Laarni will rake in P470 million a year, or P1.4 billion in three years. Nene and Koko will have P400 million between themselves yearly, or P1.3 billion in three years. Chiz and Sonny will enjoy P270 million per year, or P810 million in three years, just like the Angara father-and-son tandem.

How much does the average poor make a day? A third of the 85 million population, or 25.5 million of the people of this country make less than $1 a day, or $365 (or P17,155) a year.
According to Ping Lacson, the P200-million pork barrel of a senator is just a starting figure. If a senator sponsors a Cabinet department during the budget hearings and sessions, he/she is given access to P350 million in the line budget of that department. So P200 million plus P350 million, that’s P550 million.

What do the Filipino people get in return for electing these people? Very little, if any.

In the last 100 years since Filipinos began electing their representatives, the Philippines degenerated from being the No. 1 economy, trading and commercial power in Asia to No. 73 least competitive country in the world. Today, the Philippines is less free than it was a century ago. Did you know that the Philippines used to be Asia’s industrial power?

As late as the 19th century, the Philippines was already one of Asia’s premier industrialized countries and was the center of culture and education. The country was producing iron-ore sheets, refined iron ore, liquor from molasses using then unheard-of boilers, fine textiles for export, and was using steam engines and steam ships. It established the first bank in Asia, made the first typhoon forecast in Asia, and set up the first European-style universities in Asia.

Manila had a street car system, just like San Francisco; and had a ferrocarril line from the city to Dagupan in the north and from Manila to Batangas and Bicol in the south. By 1895, Manila had an electric light system. The first taxi fleet, the first airline, the first modern newspapers, the first conglomerate were established by Filipino tycoons. What happened after that?

During the last 100 years, Japan became a military power and the world’s No. 2 economic power next to the United States.

During the last 50 years, Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore became economic miracles. Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore became nation states (they used to be unknown islands while Filipinos were already conducting diplomatic relations with Europe and China). In fact, at one time, the Sultan of Sulu was a frequent visitor in China because he liked it there. He stayed there for three months, but died of syphilis. The Chinese erected a monument in his honor.

In the last 30 years, the Philippines became the slowest growing economy per capita in Asia, bar none. During that time, Congress produced 15,000 laws and law schools 30,000 lawyers, half of whom are active. So two lawyers for every one law. Yet, the Philippines has a very poor human rights and economic rights record.

We got our priorities wrong. We gave the people the power to vote even before the people and those they elect learned how to govern properly or at the very least, prepare or educate themselves to have a modicum of competency and honesty.

These days, people kill people just to be able to serve the people. People bribe people just to be able to serve the people. That is the meaning of a heated electoral contest. And of fraudulent elections.

Should our politicians be blamed for the nadir we have fallen into? I will say no if those families mentioned in the first part of this column will return their pork barrel and declare, “from now on, I will truly serve the people.” C’mon, give the money to the 12-million school-age children who are out of school because of extreme poverty. You don’t deserve so much money. You didn’t earn it.