Siopao Day 2008

It was a very wonderful day! It started by a surprise text from someone important to me, which I thought that she didn't know it's my birthday. Then at work, my co-faculties thrown in some surprise celebration complete with a "siopao cake". Then a "secret admirer" gave me a box of siopaos. The celebration continued at my place with my friends and families and ended the celebration with a trip to Starbucks. The final hour of my birthday ended with a conversation with the person who started my day happy.

Here are the pics

Movies to watch on 2009

2008 is not yet over but I'm dying to watch some movies that are due next year. Why can't I wait? Check this line-up and see for yourself:

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince


This one's obvious. After removed from its original screening which is November 21, this latest sequel to the Harry Potter saga is planning a July 17 2009 worldwide premiere. I don't care about the agonizing delay, I just wanted to watch the second to the last installment of the Harry Potter saga.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen


Set 2 years after the first movie. Michael Bay and producer Steven Spielberg said in interviews that, if they ever made a sequel to "Transformers", they would make a big-screen adaptation of the Unicron Saga, since they feel it's the most logical plot for a sequel as it spans nearly every form of Transfomers media (the original series, the newer cartoon and the comic books). Scheduled for airing on June 26, 2009.

Dragon Ball



The anime all of our generation loved has a Hollywood adaptation. I know anime+Hollywood=suck but based on the pictures, it looks promising. I will watch this because I wanted to revisited some childhood memories watching this.

Resident Evil: Degeneration


Who would have thought that the now classic game Resident Evil 2 will finally have a sequel that is full CG? After years of finishing Resident Evil 2, I'd been longing for a sequel and long have I waited for this moment!

STI is proud of their 84% passing rate; Nothing much to be proud of

I was watching Rated K today and they featured STI College, an old nemesis of my Alma Mater AMA University. Old, because they were not much of a threat anymore. Anyway, they mentioned that the passing rate of their school in the recent Philippine Nursing Licensure Examination (PNLE) held last June 2008 was 84%. It might say that it's not bad. but as I double-checked it on their website, it turns out that the 84% they were talking about was 55/66 of their examinees. Sheesh! 66 examinees?! Come on, they should be proud if it's 100%, but with 66 examinees, 84% is really low and they should be ashamed of it. No wonder they didn't mentioned the number of examinees on Rated K. My sister told me to let them be for it's their first time achieving that. Oh well, I'll let it pass for now.

What the hell did he just said?

Saksi, a news program of GMA 7 had a reporter who might be on drugs or something hehehe

Japan planning to have its first woman Prime Minister

Yuriko Koike emerged Wednesday as a possible contender to be Japan's first female prime minister, a former television anchorwoman who has been a defence minister and environment minister, She will contest a party vote on September 22 to replace outgoing Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda. Reminds me of former president of the Republic of the Philippines Corazon Aquino, the first woman president, emerged after Ferdinand Marcos was exiled. Details after the jump.

Fukuda, who has faced months of low poll ratings, announced his resignation Monday, plunging Japan's long-dominant ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) into crisis mode.
General elections must be held by September 2009, but the government is in trouble against an emboldened opposition while the economy, the world's second biggest, is teetering on the verge of recession.
"I want to consider what we need in general, rather than my own individual situation," Koike told reporters when asked if she would seek the top job.
"I'm contacting various people since you can't play a baseball game all by yourself."
Hidenao Nakagawa, the former number two of the party and a backroom fixer, hinted at his support for Koike, calling for a leader who backs free-market reforms that have lost steam in the past two years.
"We have to pick a candidate among reformists," Nakagawa said after meeting with Koike.
Koike, an expert on the Middle East and fluent in both English and Arabic, is known for her close ties with reformist premier Junichiro Koizumi, who was popular during his 2001-2006 tenure.
She belongs to the LDP's largest faction. Its head, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura, voiced support for a competitive race.
The vote is for the LDP's president, who then becomes prime minister.
"All of us share the view that it's desirable for the LDP, which has been driven to the edge of a cliff in a sense, to hold an active, fair election to elect its president," said Machimura, the government number two.
But the Asahi Shimbun reported that 23 of the LDP's 47 prefectural chapters have already made up their minds to back Aso.
A Kyodo News poll also said Aso was the most popular choice with the public. More than 35 percent of voters named him as their favourite among 10 possibilities, with Koike receiving nine percent.
Aso, a former foreign minister, publicly backed Koizumi-era reforms but is seen as more supportive of government spending to boost the economy.
Aso has run unsuccessfully three times to be prime minister. The former Olympic marksman is known for his hawkish views, although he has softened his image in recent years by highlighting his love of comic books and pop culture.
Currently the LDP's secretary general, he is expected to formally announce his candidacy on Monday and make election pledges, including new stimulus measures to put the brakes on an economic slowdown.
"The front-runner is Aso. That's for sure. For the LDP, Koike is a gamble," said Hidekazu Kawai, honorary professor of politics at Gakushuin University in Tokyo.
He likened Koike to the failed US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, saying she would energise Japanese women voters.
"I think many people would support her if she keeps her spirits high," said Kuniko Inoguchi, the minister for gender equality issues under Koizumi.
The LDP election "isn't something just for men to hold and debate about," she said.
Japan has one of the developed world's lowest rates of female representation among politicians and corporate executives. Only 89, or 12 percent, of the 722 members of parliament are women.
The LDP has been in power for all but 10 months since it was created in 1955. But it lost control of one house last year to the opposition, which has tried to block the LDP agenda in hopes of winning the next elections.
"To break the current impasse, I wanted to refresh the system with new members. I want to show an LDP full of energy," Fukuda, widely criticised for his sudden resignation, told party members Tuesday.
Other potential candidates to succeed him include Nobuteru Ishihara, son of nationalist Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara.

Source: Japan Probe