Binibining Pilipinas

"I came from one of the Taff Ten?!!" Yes, yes, I know you would argue that this isn't an English contest. But she didn't even answer the question! The question was "What role did your family play in the pageant?" Her answer was basically, "My family is important." It's either there's foul play going on, or our judges are really that stupid. Or the judges hate her so much, they're subjecting her to this much mockery. I want to cry! Are Filipinos really this idiotic?!

It's just really frustrating! Annoying! She's supposed to be the representative of the country! What image of the Filipino people are we showing? That we're pretty but we don't have brains? That to be sexy dancers in night clubs in Japan are all we're good for?! But the sexy dancers in night clubs in Japan are actually smart people! No one can learn a different language as fast as they can.

Filipinos are actually smart, but that's not translating in our Miss World representative! And about the English part, it is very important! We're fighting India over getting call center deals. If the investors hear our representative, we lose the deals! And don't give me that crap about not all Filipinos being like her. She is the "representative", the supposed cream of the crop! People expect her to be the image of the Filipino people.

It's not Ms San Miguel's fault (unless, of course she paid, made a deal, or slept with the judges). In fact, I pity the poor girl. I was going around You Tube yesterday, and there were so many degrading comments like "Boba" and "Idiot" and "Be a porn star, instead". It's not the girl's fault she won. If there's someone to blame, that would be the judges. Let's take a look at the lineup, shall we?

There's Quezon City Mayor Sonny Belmonte (nope), US Ambassador Kristie Kenney (not Pinoy, could be a conspiracy. Joking!), Japanese Ambasador Makoto Katsura (not one of ours), Philippine Ambassador to Spain Joseph Bernardo (hmm...), United Breweries Group Chairman Vijay Mallya (brewery. Enough said), Chateau Petrus's Jean Moueix (not ours), Entrepreneurs School of Asia founder Vivienne Tan (i was expecting better from her), Sofitel President Oscar Salvacion (from him, too), Marian Rivera (hay), Dennis Trillo (hay), and Chris Tiu (and another hay).

Why are there so many non-Filipinos in the judges? Don't you think we should be the ones choosing our own representative? I was expecting the Business people to choose someone with brains. And young actors? I'm sorry, but I really find most of them shallow. Not judge material, sorry.

Alright then, if Ms San Miguel screws up during the Miss World Pageant, you know who to blame.

Online Burol

Whew. Been a while since I posted here. When you're not on vacation anymore, you can hardly find time for yourself. Can you read the ad above? You can also check out the article here: E-burol.

I was having breakfast with my sisters one morning when I came upon this advertisement in the Philippine Daily Inquirer from St. Peter Chapels. It says "Online Burol. Libre na! Worldwide pa!" Can you believe that? It just made us laugh. What, they'll have online multi-player mahjong games, too, just like there are mahjong games in some wakes? What is this world coming to? Soon, we'll be hearing mass off the internet... Wait a minute, that's being done already.

Alright, alright. We do have the technology, and why shouldn't we use it, right? I guess. And, truth be told, I thought the idea quite ingenious. It's just that, with the rise of technology, I can't help noticing manners and some other little pleasantries declining as well. Where are the thank you cards? The hand-written invitations that make you feel a lot more special than a printed one you know was also sent to countless others? Where are the afternoon calls where you can actually touch the person you're talking to? They're not completely gone, but in this fast-paced world, it's becoming quite rare.

I suppose when you're in another country, the online wake is not such a bad idea. But when you're in the same town as the deceased, I think it would still be proper to physically be there to extend your sympathies. The point of the wake is to give our last respects to the dead, as well as give comfort to his or her family. It's a little difficult to feel sympathy when you don't even know they're visiting, as is the case in online wakes (unless of course they sign the online guestbook, but then again the actual physical human presence gives comfort that can never be replaced by any amount of online presence).