Lost and Found

It's been 10 days since I last posted a blog here so I apologize. *sigh* Things have been pretty crazy around here. Crazy=busy.

Tonight, I will have a shont rant about cyber bullying. From nasty anonymous comments to a whole site intended to destroy your reputation.

I have experienced cyber bullying. 2 years ago, I was just an innocent freshmen trying to make a mark in cyber space through my blogs when all of a sudden, some upperclassmen found it probaby amusing to leave me some nasty comments. Oh, and it wasn't just one person. There were a bunch of them! 0.0

I can't tell you how awkward and scary it was for me to in the halls of our school. I was paranoid.

Is she/he one of them?
What if I do something they won't like??

I got my most number of comments in that one blog post! ;) 50 comments. :D Nothing has ever beaten that. =)

If you think it's fun to bully someone through blog posts, comments, or vlogs, it's not. = It will not make you a better person.

Plus, with the technology these days, I could track you down, hack your PC and put a bunch of viruses in it. How you like me now??

This also includes hate blog posts. I admit, I had that phase. Now, I'm a changed blogger. Keep your anger to yourself, okay? Or at least, make the post private. :)

You might regret writing that post in the future. Believe me, I have. :D

BE GOOD!

Too much excitement

A month ago, I entered my Multiply blog in this contest in the Candymag website for aspiring teen bloggers. I never really thought I'd win because a lot of people joined the contest. and I mean a lot. My chance of winning was so slim especially because I hardly even proofread my blogs. Here's the criteria:

• Read-worthy - 50%

  The biggest chunk of your points will go to this. After all, we do visit blogs to read and view (if there are pictures!) them, right? Good blogs have interesting content and, let’s not forget, good grammar. ;-) Does your blog make your visitor want to read more?

• Eye Candy - 25%

  How well is your blog designed? Does your design tie up with your content? It’s everything about how you place your image headers, links, ads, etc. It’s all about the colors you use and the fonts, too. Does it look like a big confusing mess or an organized kind of clutter?

• Consistency - 15%

  How often do you update your content? It doesn’t mean that you do it everyday but you do update on a regular basis. Who would want to visit a blog that isn’t updated in a month, right?

• Real Deal - 10%

  How original is your site? From the design to the concept to the actual content, how much of is it is really yours? Pretty designs and graphics downloaded from other people can only take you so far, but engaging content made by you is what’s important.

Good grammar takes like 50% of the whole frigging thing. :))

Anyways, I just really wanted to read other people's blogs. It's nice to know I'm not the only one addicted to it. ;)

I thought the contest would only have one winner as the "best blog". I never knew there were other categories.

Last night, while I was going through my blog's homepage, I thought of clicking the sticker to check out if I received any new comments. Some random stranger posted this:

9. brae says:

good luck, dear:)
May 16, 2008 at 2:34 pm

First reaction: Wow! A compliment from a random stranger! =)

I never thought those 3 words had a deeper meaning..

Preview of the recent posts in the "2008 Teen Blog Awards" thread were shown at the right portion of my page there in CandyMag.

muling namamalimos po ng support
0;best use of photography - drowning at 3ft ht tp://www.candym ag.com/blogawar ds/vote

First reaction: Muling namamalis ng suppport for best use of photography? WAIT WHAT?! THERE ARE CATEGORIES?!?!

So I clicked the link that would redirect me to the thread. There were already a lot of people promoting their blogs. Wow. Good thing, all of them gave the link that would redirect you to the list of semi-finalists.

Guess what? I'm one of the 5 semi-finalists in the "Best Overall Blog"!

Overall blog. Wow. It's like the category to be part of. :)) Out of 798 registered blogs, I'm part of the top 5! AAAH!

I checked out the blogs of the 4 other semi-finalists.

http://kaakaams.co.nr/
http://morningmonster.blogspot.com/
http://kyutie.com/
http://memoirofanheiress.blogspot.com/

Brae [the girl who posted a comment] turned out to be one of the semi-finalists. She owns morningmonster.blogspot.com

If ever I'll win, I'll get an Asus EEEPC Laptop. I didn't join the contest for the prize. hehe. I already have a laptop. ;) I plan to sell it and use the money to probably buy a PSP. :)

PLEASE SUPPORT ME! :)

For those who have an account there: http://candymag.com/blogawards/vote

I am A Blogger's Paradise! =D

Just because

It's raining...men??

This is going to be one of my rare random posts here so enjoy. *cheers*

Why the random post? Well, I wanted to rant about the Twilight saga but I was just too uninspired. Here I am, bored to death in this prison I call 'home'. With no money, and no parents, I'm practically stuck here!

I just finished up the edit that my friend, Darlene, asked me to do. In case you didn't know, I edit photos in Adobe Photoshop for fun. :) I can't say I'm a noob because I'm not but I'm also not extremely good at it. Just average. ;)

Speaking of Adobe Photoshop, I should really consider changing my layout in Friendster. It's boring, I know. I removed my previous layout. It was just too out-dated, I guess.

Let's talk about summer, shall we?

Well, this summer's definitely a memorable one. Badminton training with friends? Ah. Priceless. And of course, meeting new ones in the process. =)

But summer's not yet over! I still plan to go to the beach, bum around, play under the sun, and swim with the waves.

I'm glad lots of people are transferring to Blogspot from Multiply. The more, the merrier!

Oh, I'm not asking anyone to leave their Multiply accounts behind. I just want to have more "Blogspot buddies". ;)

Anyways, AI's top 2 was no surprise. Oh, come on. You honestly thought that it wouldn't be a David VS David in the finale? You must be crazy! 0.o

Who's my bet, David Archuleta or David Cook? Cook is better than Archuleta in picking and arranging songs. He has taken much more risks than Archuleta ever did but there's something about Archuleta [besides his cute smile *wink*] that makes me doubt if Cook really is better. It's like I can feel he has a lot of potential, much more potential than Cook but he doesn't know how to use it yet.

Pretty boys ruled this season. I'm still not sure who will win this season though. =|

I think that is it for today's post. ;)

Know more and understand better

RICE SHORTAGE
Two simple words. One overpopulated country. One big crisis.

I never really fully understood why there was a rice shortage in the first place. Are we running out of lands to plant rice? Is the weather too hot for rice to grow? Are we losing more and more farmers? Too many questions and yet all the TV tells us is the effect of rice shortage which is obviously, higher prices for rice.

Due to so many unanswered questions, I decided t o research more on this rice shortage crisis that our country's currently suffering. I encountered an article in the internet that answered almost all my questions. After reading it, I learned a lot of things so let me tell you a bit more on this current crisis our dear country's suffering. Remember, you are not too young, too old, too rich, too poor, too smart, too uneducated to know what is happening in our country. It is our obligation, as Filipinos, to know, to be concerned and to help.

Obviously, the reason for our rice shortage is the d epletion of the supply of rice. Before, I thought that we were known exporters of rice but I was wrong. We were known importers of rice which means we depend on other countries with our rice supply. Unfortunately, floods in many Asian countries have affected the rice output in the region.

Why is the Philippines dependent from other countries when our country is predominantly an agricultural nation? W e are prioritizing the planting of cash crops to be exported to other countries over the planting of food crops needed by the people who are suffering from hunger. Instead of increasing local rice production, the government is dependent on imported rice. We should be like Thailand or Vietnam. They reduced their exports to prioritize their local needs. We should have done that a long time ago. Our land, our people first.

Also contributing to the depletion of the supply of rice is the conversion of land into golf courses, residential villages, and agro-industrial parks.

Of course, rice smuggling made everything worse. It's that annoying issue we keep on seeing on TV. Smuggling of NFA rice, etc. I'm sure you have probably seen this on TV already so I won't dwell on this issue.

And last but not the least, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's wrong decisions like choosing to distribute millions of pesos for fertilizers instead of, using it to improve rice productivity, that make me want to strangle her.

For me, oil prices could go up, up, up as long as rice prices are down. We could live without cars but without food, we will all die.

OPEN YOUR EYES TO THE REALITIES OF LIFE!

Who's Next?

If you watch American Idol, you should know that the finals are fast approaching. I know you already have your bets so let me share to you my thoughts on not only the contestants but also the judges, the season and the show. ;D

THE CONTESTANTS

1. David Archuleta. He is actually my bet. =) Now, I know a lot of you might disagree with me. "David Cook's better at picking and arranging his songs" or "Syesha's obviously a better singer". You know what, you maybe you're right but what I'm sure of is Archuleta has a lot of potential, talent and screaming fans. He's still 17 and with his voice and piano skills, I think he can really be big someday. I am sure he has millions of teen/tween girl fans. As Richard Rushfield of Los Angeles Times' put it, "No demographic can match the voting power of hysterically excited teen girls". I agree because if I was in America, I'd be one of those hysterically excited teen girls who'd vote for him every single week. :D :D :D Win or lose, this guy won't find it hard to get into stardom because of his choice of music genre and physical features. ;)

2. David Cook. Though I am an Archuleta fan, I admit, he has a lot of fans too and he performs really well. He is more of a performer than a singer for me. I can't decide who has more fans, him or Archuleta because I think that Cook's fans are not just teens but adults too. Archuleta is cute but Cook's hawt hot. ;) The only problem I have with him is that he's a rocker. Now, okay, I appreciate rock music and rockers but I do not believe in the versatility of their voices. Win or lose, this guy's going to have a tough time staying in the limelight. Look at all the rockers from Idol, they have one hit and *caapoosh* they say "bye,bye" to stardom.

3. Syesha Mercado. Sorry, Syesha fans. I'm not rooting for her. Yes, she has an amazing voice. She's a better singer than Archuleta and Cook but I think she has the least number of fans among the 3. She has been in the Bottom 3 5 times while the Davids have never been in the Bottom 3. The pretty boys pretty much own this season. ;) Win or lose, she's going to have the toughest time to get into the limelight. I can't find the "X Factor" in her. Can you??

THE JUDGES

1. Simon Cowell. The 'meanie' in the group. Not my favorite judge because his harsh comments are not at all needed.

2. Paula Abdul. She's usually the one complimenting the contestants. I don't agree with her most of the time. She's my least favorite judge.

3. Randy Jackson. Whatsup, Dawg?! :)) Definitely my favorite! He balances the group and when he finds a performance aweful, he doesn't say it in a harsh way. :D

THE SEASON

My favorite season's still Season 5. This season is probably my 2nd favorite season. ;)

THE SHOW

No matter how much I love some of their former contestants, I believe that this show will be cancelled after 2 or 3 seasons. = It's losing its credibility because of controversies here and there and they are losing viewers too!

Did you notice how predictable this season was? Sure, there were some surprises but whoever doubted that the Davids would not get into the top 3 must be crazy! Now, if they are this season's top 2 which I am very much hoping for, I wouldn't be surprise at all! That should also prove how much more of a popularity contest than a talent search this show is.

So that wraps it up for my thoughts on American Idol Season 7! ;) Thoughts??

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL MOTHERS OUT THERE!