America chooses three more Idol finalists

Three more Idol contestants made it to the finals of the American Idol season 8. The second group of finalists who received the most viewer votes includes Allison Iraheta, a 16-year-old high school student from Los Angeles; Kris Allen, a 23-year-old University of Central Arkansas.; and Adam Lambert, a 26-year-old theater actor from Los Angeles.

Funny man Nick Mitchell who performed as his alter ego Norman Gentle, was one of the nine semifinalists who were sent packing

The four judges were more than satisfied with Lambert's version of the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction.” They were also impressed with Iraheta’s rendition of Heart’s “Alone.”

"You just blew it out the box!" Randy Jackson commented after Iraheta’s performance last Wednesday.

However, Allen’s interpretation of Michael Jackson’s "Man in the Mirror" got mixed reaction from the judges.

The three will join 28-year-old church music director Danny Gokey from Milwaukee, 21-year-old musician Alexis Grace from Memphis, Tenn., and 27-year-old oil rig worker Michael Sarver from Jasper, Texas, who were voted as the first three finalists last week.

Twelve more semifinalists will vie for three spots in the competition's top 12, next week. Nevertheless, it is not yet over for Mitchell and other semifinalists as they may get another shot to make it to the finals. The judges will choose the last three finalists in a special wild card round after the first nine finalists are selected by viewer votes.

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Top Entrecard droppers.

I just acquired a new widget on my sidebar. Yes, I now have a widget for the top Entrecard droppers on this blog. This is just a small token of appreciation to my fellow bloggers who kept on visiting this blog to drop their Entrecards. There are times when I may not be able to return the visit because of time constraint but I can at least link back to them using this widget.

Leading the pack of Top Droppers is BMWF1Blog who dropped 31. Beyond Left Field dropped 26. My Life’s Adventure, Symphony of Love and Walking Newspaper all dropped 24.

Here are the Top 10 droppers:





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Today is Ash Wednesday.

Had I not sat across a lady in the jeepney with a black cross mark on the forehead, this day would have passed without me knowing its significance. Yes, if you’re a busy person like me and you’re a Catholic, today is Ash Wednesday. It is the day signifying the start of the Lenten season.

Ash Wednesday derives its name from the practice of imposing ashes on the foreheads of the faithful as a symbol of repentance. If you don’t know yet, the ashes used on Ash Wednesday are gathered from the burned Palm Crosses from the previous year’s Palm Sunday. In the Roman Catholic Church, this day is observed by repentance, fasting and abstinence from meat. But more importantly, it is a day of contemplating one’s transgressions.

For me, this day is the best reminder that we are more than our earthly possessions. Indeed, we are from dust and unto dust we shall return. It doesn’t matter how rich we are, how popular or powerful we have become in this world, in the end, we will leave all of these worldly possessions behind. What matters most is how we accept the truth that we are sinners and we fell short of what is expected of us as Christians. Yes, we are at the mercy of God’s love so let’s make everyday a testament of God’s eternal goodness.

May God richly bless us all this Lenten season!
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'Slumdog Millionaire' wins big with eight Oscars.

“Slumdog Millionaire” swept the Oscars with 8 awards including best picture and best director for Briton director Danny Boyle. A rag-to-riches story of a poor Indian boy who competes for love and money on a TV game show, also earned Oscars for best cinematography, sound mixing, film editing, original score and best song, "Jai Ho".


The movie which was filmed in the teeming slums of Mumbai almost failed to get released when it was dropped by Warner Independent Pictures, its first financier. Thanks to Fox Searchlight Pictures who rescued the movie and released it last November.

Other big winners are Sean Penn who won his second best-actor award, Kate Winslet who took the best actress trophy, Heath Ledger and Penelope Cruz for their supporting prizes.

Sean Penn took his second Oscar best-actor trophy by playing a slain gay-rights pioneer in "Milk," while Kate Winslet won the best actress for "The Reader," in which she plays a former concentration camp guard who involves herself in a love affair with a teenage boy. This is her first Oscar after five previous losses.
"I would be lying if I said I haven't made a version of this speech before. I think I was probably 8-years-old and staring into the bathroom mirror," she said.

"This would have been a shampoo bottle," she said gesturing to the golden Oscar statuette. "Well it's not a shampoo bottle now!"
Penelope Cruz won an Academy award for her supporting role in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona to become the first Spanish actress to win an Academy Award. As expected, Heath Ledger was posthumously named best supporting actor for his villainous role as The Joker in "The Dark Knight."

The award for Ledger, who died 13 months ago of an accidental prescription drug overdose, brought the crowd to its feet. He became the second actor after Peter Finch to win an Academy award posthumously. The award was accepted by his father, Kim Ledger, sister Kate and mother Sally Bell.

Here are the complete list of winners:

Motion Picture: "Slumdog Millionaire."
Actor: Sean Penn, "Milk."
Actress: Kate Winslet, "The Reader."
Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, "The Dark Knight."
Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona."
Director: Danny Boyle, "Slumdog Millionaire."
Foreign Film: "Departures," Japan.
Adapted Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy, "Slumdog Millionaire."
Original Screenplay: Dustin Lance Black, "Milk."
Animated Feature Film: "WALL-E."
Art Direction: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button."
Cinematography: "Slumdog Millionaire."
Sound Mixing: "Slumdog Millionaire."
Sound Editing: "The Dark Knight."
Original Score: "Slumdog Millionaire," A.R. Rahman.
Original Song: "Jai Ho" from "Slumdog Millionaire," A.R. Rahman and Gulzar.
Costume: "The Duchess."
Documentary Feature: "Man on Wire."
Documentary (short subject): "Smile Pinki."

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Music Monday – I’m Yours by Jason Mraz

I found this linky tag from fellow bloggers and I thought it’s a great idea to post something about music on a Monday. So here is my first Music Monday post.

This song was nominated for Song of the Year at the 2009 51st Grammy Awards where Jason Mraz was also nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. “I’m Yours” is the first single from his latest album “We Sing, We Dance. We Steal Things” which was released last May, 13, 2008. The song reached #1 on AAA radio charts in the US.

I personally love the melody and the lyrics of the song.

Lyrics | Jason Mraz lyrics - I'm Yours lyrics

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LJL Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.

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MYX Daily Top 10 (February 23, 2009)

Two days before the showing of her movie with the same title, Sarah Geronimo’s “You Changed My Life” is still on the top of the MYX countdown while David Archuleta remains on the second spot with “A Little Too Not Over You.” Katy Perry’s “Thinking of You” debuts on number 9. Monstar88 returns at number 10 with “Senti”.

Top Ten

01.Sarah Geronimo - You Changed My Life
02.David Archuleta - A Little Too Not Over You
03.Kyla - Heart To Heart
04.Taylor Swift - Love Story
05.Jonas Brothers - Tonight
06.Callalily - Hintay
07.SpongeCola - Di Na Mababawi
08.Britney Spears - Circus
09.Katy Perry - Thinking Of You
10.Moonstar88 - Senti



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My 282nd post.

A few days ago, one of my officemates was asking me about starting a blog. I told her that it is easy to start a blog and it’s practically free (using Blogger). However, it will take a lot of patience and motivation to continue writing especially if she intends to monetize her blog in the future. (I jokingly reminded her not to write posts while she’s at work. Some offices do not allow this and employees have to resort to proxy servers for them to be able to browse non-work related sites.)

I was suddenly reminded that my blog is now on its 9th month. Indeed, time flies so fast. Looking back, it’s hard to believe that this is now my 282nd post and my 2 blogs have already made a couple of hundred dollars. Not bad, considering that I am doing this in my free time.

Blogging will not make you an instant millionaire. My blog was already 4 months old, with decent traffic and a Pagerank of 3, when I first made my first 10 dollar sponsored post. And just to set your expectations, if you intend to make money through sponsored posts, it’s not everyday that you will get a $10 opportunity, some will just give you $5. At times, there are no opportunities available.

I am investing time and effort on this endeavor, but what matters most is I am enjoying every moment of it. Working on this blog is not really work for me; this is my way of relaxing.

I promised my officemate to write more about my experiences when I was starting this blog so other people who want to start blogging can learn from it. So, expect more posts about blogging in the future.


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