good morning news!

Breaking news form inq7.net:

Forbes: Arroyo is 4th most powerful woman, Rice tops list

NEW YORK -- Beleaguered Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has been ranked as the fourth most powerful woman in the world in the latest global ranking of feminine clout by Forbes magazine.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice tops the list, beating out a host of presidents, celebrities, and chief executives.

The annual list, unveiled Thursday, was Forbes' second ranking of the world's 100 most powerful women and left Rice two-for-two, having topped the 2004 version as US national security adviser.

Arroyo jumped five places this year, behind newcomer Yulia Tymoshenko, the Ukranian prime minister who debuted at number three and Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi, at number two for the second year in a row.

Elizabeth MacDonald, senior editor at Forbes, cited Rice for "reinvigorating the role of Secretary of State with a form of diplomatic activism that we haven't seen in a while."

Aw, c'mon...is that how extensive her influence is? Did she do a "Hello, Forbes?" too?

I can just imagine her saying "Yung dagdag...yung dagdag?" to whoever was tallying scores in Forbes.

Oink

Our 8-cubic-feet fridge has been working overtime to keep the stuff in the freezer cool. See, my mom just came back from a years of living in a pork-free land. Our freezer's full of liempo, kasim, pigue, ulo, porkchop, pata, butterfly cut, spare ribs, pork steak, and longaniza. Name all the stuff you can find in the Monterey section of your favorite supermarket, we have it. I had to get the ice trays out just to get all that pork in.

Plus of course, lechon from Cebu. She ordered 4 kilos...yummy, yes...but paksiw na lechon for days on end...omigod, and hypertension runs in the family.

Oh yeah, and Ma Ling too. Cans and cans of Ma Ling.

And Excellente bacon...she travelled all the way to Quiapo for the best-tasting uncommercialized bacon this side of the hemisphere.

Somebody get me my KFC!!!

reminiscing

Call me a sellout...I still believe in free music and that musicians shouldn't be making money out of royalties, just off live concerts (I'm bracing myself for vicious comments later)...but when I saw a huge poster of it outside Tower Records, I just had to have it:


College in a CD

The music that got me through 14 units of philosophy and 18 units of theology.

Disappointing, though...no Hey Jay, Shake yer head, nor Punk Zappa 1, 2 nor 3. Punk Zappa was my hero..."Oi! oi punk zappas and my hobbies are listening to the radio, reading the songhits and eating bu-bloody fish balls."

Sniff....

A family pic...mom, kids, and granddaughter. No, the figure in white in the corner of the pic isn't an elemental being...neither is she Sadako/Samara/that cute kid in Dark Water...neither did she mysteriously appear on the picture ala Nginiiiig or Wag Kang Kukurap. But hey, I find the whole thing quite funny, don't you?
Let's put a caption here...

Friendster - Messages

I've been getting some funny messages in my Friendster account. (Yes, I consider myself cool enough to have one...add me! add me! bluegreen717@hotmail.com).

Like this guy, goes by the name of Gul, lives in the States but is of middle-easter descent. (Wow, you know what they say about 'em Arabs....)

Please take note that spelling errors were deliberately ignored:

Gul Khan: Hi gorgeosu just wanted to say hello and wondering if u intrested in friendship......?

Lg: Hi Gul, sure, go ahead and add me to your friendster account, bluegreen717@hotmail.com.

GK: not only friendster hun i wanna add u in my heart and wanna get to knwo u more see if we can be a good patner in our life......xoxoxo whats ur yahoo ID....?

Lg: Dude, You gotta be subtler than that...your current approach will only win the hearts of absolutely desperate spinsters.

GK: so ur not intrested hu.....


But of course if the guy looked like George Clooney, I'd have sent him a nude pic.

little american brother

My brother's home...or should I say he's here, away from home. (Aggregate time stayed in the Philippines: A little over a year. And he's 19.) He's all poised to take the American nursing labor pool by storm. "I'm gonna make a lot of money there, Ate," he told me yesterday. I realized that in both real and nominal terms, he's got more money in the bank than I do, and he's a student.

Anyhoo...he's having a difficult time picking up girls here. "Pinays are such prudes!!! What kind of a dance bar is that? Everyone just stands there and stares at each other!!! I can't believe girls are so clueless about 'how 'ya doin'?" (In his best Joey Tribianni voice.)

He goes on and tells me, "I'm so hot in the States. All the girls find me exotic...they think I'm Samoan or something because I'm big." (He's six feet tall, by the way.)

"They also think that because I'm Asian, I must be really good in math...one time 30 kids copied my test answers for math, and those 30 kids failed." Sigh.

"And what's the deal here with the showers? How come you gotta scoop up the water with that tabo thing?!" Er, we're grateful for Manila Water for giving us running water 24/7.

"Wow, it's so liberating here...I can order beer without fear of deportation...." Hmm...yeah, well, my five-year old orders a whole case from the corner store. And that's in broad daylight.

"And since I came here, my boogers' been a weird dark color. Yuck." Ayan, kasi nagco-commute ka.

Ahhh...there's no place like home.

Satisfactory...so far

My legions of fans have been asking about Part II of Boo-Boo Interviews. Much as I'd like to make fun of nubile idealistic know-it-alls between the earth and sky where the bright blue eagles fly, I couldn't.

They all knew about 1997. They all knew about the crisis. Although they didn't know anything about George Soros (and to think I only learned about him a year after his infamous speculation on Asian currencies), they pretty much had an idea what to watch out for in a balance sheet.

Hmm...well, there was one girl. An econ grad who was meek, mild, and very...meek and mild. I tried to give her some giveaway questions...and I mean dead giveaways. Think Econ 101.

LG: What is absolute advantage?
Lucky applicant: Ma'am...it has something to do with which country can produce more....
LG: Er, ok. What about competitive advantage?
LA: Ma'am...er...ah...I'm sorry but I've been on vacation...I don't remember?
LG: Ok...tell me nalang who authored those theories.
LA: Ha? Er...ah...
LG: Absolute advantage...Adam Smith, remember?
LA: Ah, yes ma'am.
LG: And competitive advantage...David Ricardo.
LA: Ah, yes ma'am. (looks very unconvinced, though.)

Oh well...can I blame her? Or can't I? An economics graduate. Ok, ok, I asked those questions because I had them in my midterms the other day. I wouldn't have remembered David Ricardo myself...but Adam Smith? Come on. He's what Freud is to psychology.

Oh, here's another one:

LG: (after introducing the company and telling her about the position) So, are you interested in the position?
Lucky Applicant No. 2: Opo, ma'am.
LG: What struck you most about the position? the company?
LA2: Ma'am, gusto ko po yung marami akong natututnan, yung training 'nyo rin po.

I ask some more questions in English...which she all answers in Tagalog. Sigh...I guess it would've been more disastrous if she tried to answer in English....