Separated at Birth?

David Archuleta and JC Guapo

Voyage of the Balangay Update

Team Balangay has finally set sail aboard Diwata ng Lahi towards an epic journey from Manila Bay to Mindanao and later on to Southeast Asia. For more updates from Team Balangay, visit the official website. Lawig balangay!

Note: Diwata ng Lahi will be joined by another balangay once it docks in Butuan City. The balangay construction in Butuan will be paid for by private citizens.

100k

I created and uploaded this video 2 years ago on Youtube. As of today, it has garnered 144 comments and 101,250 views with a 5-star rating by 144 people. I do not claim sole ownership of the video since all footages were taken from the movie, "The Passion of the Christ" by Mel Gibson. It is a heavily edited music video version with Hillsong's "Worthy is the Lamb" as background music.

Fall TV

September is finally here! For me, that means the start of fall season TV. It is the time of season premieres for most TV shows in the US. Most of these shows ended their previous seasons in May and the 4-month wait is excruciating for TV addicts like me. It does not help that some of these shows left us with cliffhangers that has beem driving me nuts these past 4 months. Like in Grey's Anatomy, any fan of the show must be itching to know who dies in the new season, Izzie or George? Or as in Heroes, what will happen to Sylar/Nathan? These are just some of the questions that needs some answers pronto! Below is the schedule of fall season premieres of the TV shows that I follow (or at least try to follow) and some new ones that I am going to check out.

Sept. 8 9PM - Melrose Place (New Series - CW)
Sept. 9 8PM - America’s Next Top Model (CW)
Sept. 9 9PM - Glee (New Series - Fox)
Sept. 14 9PM - Gossip Girl (CW)
Sept. 17 9PM - Fringe (Fox)
Sept. 21 8PM - Heroes (NBC)
Sept. 21 8PM - How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
Sept. 22 10PM - The Good Wife (New Series - CBS)
Sept. 22 10PM - The Forgotten (New Series - ABC)
Sept. 24 9PM - Grey’s Anatomy (ABC)
Sept. 24 10PM - The Mentalist (CBS)
Sept. 27 8PM - The Amazing Race (CBS)
Sept. 27 9PM - Desperate Housewives (ABC)
Sept. 27 10PM - Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
Sept. 28 9PM - Lie to Me (Fox)
Sept. 28 9PM - Trauma (New Series - NBC)
Oct. 1 10PM - Private Practice (ABC)
Oct. 15 9:30PM - 30 Rock (NBC)

Happy viewing!

And the Winner is...

Stefania Fernandez, 18, Venezuela! Many pageant fans were surprised yesterday as Stefania Fernandez of Venezuela was crowned Miss Universe 2009. She succeeds Dayana Mendoza who is also from Venezuela. This is the first time in Miss Universe history that a country won 2 crowns in a row. Congratulations Stefania!

On a sadder note, Miss Philippines Bianca Manalo failed to make it to the Top 15. More surprisingly, no Asian made it to the semi-final list. However, 10 of my picks did make it, including alternates. Below is the complete list of the 3 cuts .

Top 15:

1. Puerto Rico
2. Iceland
3. Albania
4. Czech Republic
5. Belgium
6. Dominican Republic
7. Sweden
8. Kosovo
9. Australia
10. France
11. Switzerland
12. South Africa
13. USA
14. Croatia
15. Venezuela

Top 10 (after Swimsuit competition, with scores):

1. Australia 9.264
2. Dominican Republic 9.189
3. Kosovo 8.790
4. Venezuela 8.760
5. France 8.640
6. Switzerland 8.611
7. Puerto Rico 8.533
8. South Africa 8.460
9. Czech republic 8.350
10. USA 8.060

Top 5 (after Evening Gown competition, with scores):

1. Dominican Republic 9.428
2. Kosovo 9.250
3. Puerto Rico 9.050
4. Australia 9.039
5. Venezuela 8.8691

Special Awards:

Miss Congeniality - China
Miss Photogenic - Thaiand

Final Result:

Miss Universe 2009 - Venezuela
1st Runner-up - Dominican Republic
2nd Runner-up - Kosovo
3rd Runner-up - Australia
4th Runner-up - Puerto Rico

Congratulations to the winners! And to Bianca, you will always be the Miss Universe in the Filipinos' hearts.