Thursday, October 29, 2009

What is Online Dating?

Online Dating in Three Easy Pieces

Online dating can be a little scary at first. You are jumping onto a website and sharing yourself with thousands and sometimes millions of other people. You are putting yourself out there with the risk of rejection in hopes of finding anything from a date to a spouse. It can be a lot of pressure to put yourself under.

That’s why you need to break online dating down to it’s three basic parts: The profile, the photo, and your strategy. Most people fail because they don’t take the little bit of extra effort that they need to make sure they have these three things. If you have a great strategy, but your profile or photos are not so good, you are probably just wasting your time because you are not going to make a good first impression. But, even if you have a great profile and photo, but have no real strategy, it’s kind of like having bullets without a gun. Throwing bullets will only get you so far. Here are some simple tips to help you out in all three areas:

The Profile:

Focus on the positives!
Always try to talk about the things you want in the person you are looking for. Don’t focus on the things that you don’t want, talking about them just makes it sound like you have more baggage than any normal person is going to want to deal with.

The Photo:

Keep the focus on you!
A lot of people like to put photos that show them with friends or at fancy functions like weddings. Don’t do it! You want to be the only person in your photo. If you have friends or family in the photo with you, you run the risk of people spending their time trying to figure out if they are just a friend or your ex. Even worse, they might be more attracted to your friend than they are to you. Instead, keep the focus on you and let visual props like a pet or a setting the shows off some of your character. That way people can see you in a setting that makes you look your best.

The Strategy:

Make the first move!

Don’t wait for Mr. or Ms. Right to find you. Only you really know what you want anyways, so get out there and start looking for it. Take advantage of the search options on your for your dating site so you can eliminate a lot of the people you aren’t interested in. When you find someone you like, SEND THEM AN EMAIL! Do not wink at them. Winking is for wusses!

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Rain or shine PBB House opens its doors Sunday night

Typhoon Ondoy delayed constructions of the Pinoy Big Brother house and almost stalled the pictorial of the new housemates. As of press time, the damages, if any, wrought by the new super typhoon Pepeng, has not yet been determined. But rain or shine, the PBB house will open its doors on Sunday night to welcome its 12 new housemates as "Pinoy Big Brother: Double Up" begins airing on ABS-CBN.

"Hopefully, the PBB house won't get flooded by any forthcoming typhoon. But during typhoon Ondoy it didn't because it was located on a higher level than those areas around it that got flooded. We only had leaking roofs which we fixed already. I could say that the housemates would be safe just in case another strong typhoon hits Metro Manila. I think the PBB house is one of the safest place to be during natural and unnatural calamities," explained director Laurenti Dyogi who is also the Business Unit Head of the Pinoy Big Brother franchise.

"Pinoy Big Brother: Double Up" is the third serving of the popular reality-TV show "Pinoy Big Brother." And according to Lauren, it is to date, the most exciting compared to the past two regular editions.

"This is the longest, most tedious 'PBB' audition we ever had. We also had the most number of people who auditioned. We had more than 50,000 including the last two auditions we recently had in Japan and San Francisco," he said.

From 50,000, they had to trim the number down to 500, then 100 and their shortlist reached around 50 PBB housemate hopefuls until the final 12 who would be entering the PBB house on Sunday night. But that's just the first batch. For those who have followed PBB, it can be anticipated that more housemates would soon follow. And the new PBB tag-line "Double Up" is an obvious hint that this would be twice the fun (two houses too?), and twice the gimmickry and excitement!

"There's a lot of interesting characters among the housemates. Their ages range from 20 to 33 and they're a mix of single people, married people, single parent, a mother, a father, a conservative person and more. Actually when we presented this to management, they were very happy and excited as well," Lauren added.

The concept of "Double Up" too wasn't hard to be approved by Endemol, the owner of the Big Brother franchise, according to Lauren.

"As long as it's new they will like it. They trust us because we've done a lot of PBB editions and we've been doing it for years also. They liked the idea so we got approved," he said.

The prizes remain the same - a house and lot which can be converted into cash, P1 million, and a franchise of a water distilling business. There will still be "Pinoy Big Brother Uber" and "PBB Games Update" aside from the regular nightly airing of "PBB." Adding support to the show are weekly highlights inside the PBB house on "PBB Weekend Primetime" airing on Studio 23 every Saturday and Sunday at 6 p.m. starting on Oct. 10 and raw footages from the PBB house on "Pinoy Big Brother Streaming" at 1 p.m. starting on Oct. 12.

There's also a website PBB fanatics can visit, http://www.pinoybigbrother.multiply.com.

"Pinoy Big Brother: Double Up" will still be hosted by Mariel Rodriguez, Bianca Gonzales and Toni Gonzaga.

"What makes the regular edition of PBB more exciting is because the housemates here are more dynamic because they are ordinary people. And this new batch of housemates really went to a grueling process before being accepted. So definitely this will be an exciting PBB edition to watch," Lauren exclaimed.

* * *
'Spoiled Brat, the Movie' now on its second week

Now on its second week is "Yaya & Angelina: The Spoiled Brat Movie," and it's still drawing in the crowds in movie houses, despite the chaos and havoc brought about by Typhoon Ondoy. For this, the stars of the movie, Michael V. and Ogie Alcasid, wish to express their gratitude to friends and fans and the movie press for the support that they're giving their movie.

Michael and Ogie, and the other members of the cast of the movie, and the producers of course (GMA Films and APT Entertainment) were so happy to know not one of them was adversely affected by the typhoon.

To give back, Michael V., Ogie and Regine, did their share of charity work by donating to the relief funds and soliciting help from their sponsors. Regine herself did the grocery shopping (that's why she was absent from "SOP" last Sunday and even while she was suffering from migraine) and later brought the goodies for distribution to typhoon victims in Old Balara, QC, according to Ogie.

To be able to help more the victims, Ogie is now organizing a big concert at the Araneta Coliseum. "We intend to hold it on Nov. 14, and right now I'm trying to enlist the participation of our performers and actors and actresses from both ABS-CBN and GMA-7," Ogie told entertainment writers during a recent thanksgiving presscon held at Gerry's Grill.

Entitled "Kaya Natin Ito!" the concert will be directed by Rowell Santiago. Ogie said he hopes to get the support and commitment of OPM artists for this fundraising show. The proceeds will be donated to the Philippine National Red Cross for the benefit of the typhoon victims.

"Sana makakuha rin kami ng maraming sponsors. Araneta Coliseum is helping us, by the way," Ogie concluded.

* * *
Reunion of Sampaguita stars

It was another reunion of Sampaguita stars when Liberty Ilagan (now Mrs. Carlos Lardizabal) celebrated her natal day recently. The dinner party was held at the residence of Asia's Queen of Song Pilita Corrales in New Manila, Quezon City.

Liberty's family (except her lawyer husband who couldn't attend because he was sick) was present to help her celebrate her special day. Her two daughters Happy and Soeng (she was with husband) were there, and so were Liberty's cousins and other relatives. Liberty's sister Vicky I. Rousotte who is based abroad was there, and so was another sister, Maria Fe I. Gibbs, mother of singer-actor Janno Gibbs. Of course, Fe's husband Ronaldo Valdez was also present.

Liberty's colleagues and friends from showbiz came to wish her well, among them Marichu Maceda, Pempe Rodrigo (the ever efficient Girl Friday of the Balik Samahan group who tirelessly inform everyone of any event concerning them), Amalia Fuentes, Susan Roces, Delia Razon, Gloria Sevilla, Caridad Sanchez, Boots Anson-Roa, Imelda Ilanan, Marissa Delgado, Daria Ramirez, Elizabeth Ramsey, Amparo Lucas, Encarnita Abieera, Minda Morena, Boy Roxas, Lollie Mara, Anna Ledesma, Annabelle Santiago, Letty Hahns, Tess Nicolas, Linda Tan, Doris Lopez, Julie Ang, Precy Garcia, Malou Zamora, Vicky Anson-White, Vicky Gaspar, Merlin Ikida, Menchu Bantos, Nancy Coo, Elizabeth Poe, Pepito Rodriguez, Ramil Rodriguez, Charlie Davao, Lito Legaspi, and many more.

Other friends and Balik Samahan members like Barbara Perez, Robert Arevalo, Liza Lorena, Perla Bautista, and Zara Calvin couldn't come because of prior engagements. Photog Virgie Balatico who is a friend of most of the veteran stars was there to do the shoots. She was impressed by the friendship forged by these stars which has remained steadfast through the years. "Ibang-iba talaga ang samahan at pagkakaibigan ng mga artista noon," Virgie said. "Hindi nagbago ang kanilang kabaitan, tapat silang magmahal sa mga kaibigan. Hanggang ngayon magkakaibigan pa rin sila."

Though belatedly, we wish Libay happy birthday and many more birthdays to come!

* * *
Tidbits: Happy b-day greetings on Oct. 4 go to former Sen. Francisco "Kit" Tatad, "Master Showman" German "Kuya Germs" Moreno, Pagsanjan Mayor E.R. Ejercito, Matet de Leon, Pet Aquitania, Bon Arambulo, Philip S. Tan, Joseph L. Benitez, Editha Lim Manansala, Librada Gutierrez of DSWD, Atty. Jose D. Monasterial Jr., Mrs. Lani Pelayo, Sabria Chantal M. Prado, Winnie Javillo of West Covina, CA, Malou Pamaran Zamora, and MB's Angela L. Morales.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Samba! Rio wins right to host the 2016 Olympics

COPENHAGEN – Like sweet, sultry samba music, Rio hit all the right notes. Chicago had Barack Obama. Tokyo had $4 billion in the bank. Madrid had powerful friends. But none of that mattered. Rio de Janeiro had the enchanting story — of about 400 million sports-mad people on a giant untapped and vibrant continent yearning, hoping, that the Olympics finally might come to them. And the International Olympic Committee was hooked.

Olympians, we'll see you on Copacabana beach in 2016. Let Carnival begin.

On a chilly Danish evening of high drama, the IOC on Friday sent the games of the 31st Olympiad to Brazil's bustling, fun-loving but crime-ridden city of beaches and mountains, romance and slums.

The IOC closed its eyes to the risks — the huge projected costs of the Rio Games, the concerns about how athletes will get around and where people will sleep — to focus on the reward of lighting the Olympic cauldron in one of the last corners of the globe yet to be bathed by its light.

"It is Brazil's time," said the country's charismatic president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Chicago was knocked out in the first round — in one of the most shocking defeats ever handed down by the committee of former Olympians, sports administrators, royals and other VIPs.

While blues legend Buddy Guy twanged "Sweet Home Chicago" in a promotional video the city played to the IOC, bad blood between the committee and its U.S. branch — they've had flare-ups over revenue sharing and lucrative broadcasting rights — proved to be a note of discord. IOC members said the slap to Chicago was more directed at the U.S. Olympic Committee than to the Windy City itself.

The win was decisive: Rio beat Madrid by 66 votes to 32.

Chicago got just 18 votes in the first round, with Tokyo squeezing into the second round with 22. Madrid was leading after the first round with 28 votes, while Rio had 26.

In the second round, Tokyo was eliminated with just 20 votes. Madrid got 29, qualifying it for the final round face-off with Rio, which by then already had a strong lead with 46 votes.

The indignity suffered by Chicago — long considered a front-runner — was such that some IOC members squirmed. Obama flew overnight from Washington to sell his adoptive hometown and its plans for Olympic competition on Lake Michigan's windy shores to the IOC. First lady Michelle Obama, with talk show host Oprah Winfrey and sports stars in tow, jetted in first and spent two days buttering up IOC members, an essential part of the secretive and unpredictable selection process.

IOC members seemed wowed, posing for photos with her and taking souvenir shots of the president with their cell phones. But, in the vote, Chicago was shunned.

Obama called Silva to congratulate him, but the nature of the loss still rang as a stinging anti-American rebuke. Close to half of the IOC's 106 members are Europeans.

"To have the president of the United States and his wife personally appear, then this should happen in the first round is awful and totally undeserving," senior Australian IOC member Kevan Gosper said.

French IOC member Guy Drut said "an excess of security" for the Obamas unsettled some of his colleagues. He complained that he'd been barred from crossing the lobby of his hotel for security reasons, and he grumbled that "nothing has been done" to resolve the financial disputes between the IOC and the USOC.

Of Obama's performance, Drut said: "He didn't do too much. Michelle Obama was exceptional."

"This morning the city was closed because of Barack Obama," he added.

In Chicago, there was bewildered silence when IOC president Jacques Rogge announced: "The city of Chicago, having obtained the least number of votes, will not participate in the next round."

On Rio's Copacabana beach, where nearly 50,000 people roared when the winning city was announced, the party headed into the night.

Rio spoke to IOC members' consciences: the city argued that it was simply unfair that South America has never hosted the games, while Europe, Asia and North America have done so repeatedly.

"It is a time to address this imbalance," Silva told the IOC before it delivered its verdict. "It is time to light the Olympic cauldron in a tropical country."

Madrid's surprising success in reaching the final round came after former IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch made a morbid appeal for the Spanish capital, reminding IOC members as he asked for their vote that, at age 89, "I am very near the end of my time."

Samaranch ran the IOC for 21 years before Rogge took over in 2001.

Beating three rich, more developed nations that had all previously held the games represented a giant, morale-boosting coup for Brazil. The emerging nation is bounding up the ranks of the world's biggest economies but still has millions of people living in poverty.

Like a football team before a big final, Rio's bid leaders and Silva held hands in silent prayer before walking out to deliver a flawless and impassioned presentation. A bid official said Silva's last words of encouragement were "let's stay calm, and stick with our plan."

Brazil's central bank governor reeled off impressive statistics about an economy predicted to be the world's fifth-largest by 2016. The state governor pledged that taxes would not be raised for the games and played down safety concerns. Computer-generated bird's-eye images of how venues will spread across the city, with sailing in the shadow of Sugar Loaf mountain and volleyball on Copacabana, provided the wow factor.

Then Silva delivered the knockout.

"Among the top 10 economies of the world, Brazil is the only country that has not hosted the Olympic and Paralympic Games," he said. "For the Olympic movement, it will be an opportunity to feel the warmth of our people, the exuberance of our culture, the sun of our joy and it will also be a chance to send a powerful message to the whole world: The Olympic Games belong to all peoples, to all continents and to all humanity."

Silva, a bearded former union leader, disappeared into a huge group hug with the joyous Rio team after Rogge announced that the city had won. Football great Pele had tears in his eyes. Brazil will now hold the world's two biggest sporting events in the space of just two years: in 2014, it is hosting the World Cup.

"There was absolutely no flaw in the bid," Rogge said.

Now, Africa and Antarctica are the only continents never to have been awarded an Olympics.

"We have sent out a message that we want to go global," IOC member Gerhard Heiberg said.

Obama held out the enticing prospect of a Chicago games helping to reconnect the United States with the world after the presidency of George W. Bush. He told the IOC that the "full force of the White House" would be applied so "visitors from all around the world feel welcome and will come away with a sense of the incredible diversity of the American people."

An uncomfortable moment came during Chicago's presentation when an IOC member from Pakistan, Syed Shahid Ali, noted that going through U.S. customs can be harrowing for foreigners. Obama responded that he wanted a Chicago games to offer "a reminder that America at its best is open to the world."

But the IOC's last two experiences in the United States were bad: the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics were sullied by a bribery scandal and logistical problems and a bombing hit the 1996 Games in Atlanta.

Former IOC member Kai Holm said the brevity of Obama's appearance — he was in and out in five hours — may have hurt Chicago.

"Too businesslike," Holm said. "It can be that some IOC members see it as a lack of respect."

IOC members said Asian voters may have banded together, at Chicago's expense, in the first round in favor of Tokyo, which offered reassurances of financial security, with $4 billion already banked for the games.

"The whole thing doesn't make sense other than there has been a stupid bloc vote," Gosper said.

The last U.S. city to bid for the Summer Games, New York, did scarcely better. It was ousted in the second round in the 2005 vote that gave the 2012 Games to London.

Now, Chicago can only rue what might have been.

And Rio ... well, what an excuse for a party.

The 'Internet' turned 40 on sept 2

The 'Internet' turned 40 on sept 2. It may sound strange, but today it is quite impossible to think of world without the 'World Wide Web'.

On Sept 2, 1969, around about 20 people gathered in a lab at the University of California, Los Angeles and two bulky computers were used to pass test data through a 15-foot gray cable. That was the beginning of the Internet. Now, 40 years later, we take a look at the Internet timeline.

Key milestones in the development and growth of the Internet

1969: On September 2, two computers at University of California, Los Angeles, exchange meaningless data in first test of Arpanet, an experimental military network. The first connection between two sites UCLA and the Stanford Research Institute in Menlo Park, California takes place on October 29, though the network crashes after the first two letters of the word "logon." UC Santa Barbara and University of Utah later join.

1970: Arpanet gets first East Coast node, at Bolt, Beranek and Newman in Cambridge, Mass.

1972: Ray Tomlinson brings e-mail to the network, choosing "at" symbol as way to specify e-mail addresses belonging to other systems.

1973: Arpanet gets first international nodes, in England and Norway.

1974: Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn develop communications technique called TCP, allowing multiple networks to understand one another, creating a true Internet. Concept later splits into TCP/IP before formal adoption on January 1, 1983.

1983: Domain name system is proposed. Creation of suffixes such as ".com," ''.gov" and ".edu" comes a year later.

1988: One of the first Internet worms, Morris, cripples thousands of computers.

1989: Quantum Computer Services, now AOL, introduces America Online service for Macintosh and Apple II computers, beginning an expansion that would connect nearly 27 million Americans online by 2002.

1990: Tim Berners-Lee creates the World Wide Web while developing ways to control computers remotely at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research.

1993: Marc Andreessen and colleagues at University of Illinois create Mosaic, the first Web browser to combine graphics and text on a single page, opening the Web to the world with software that is easy to use.

1994: Andreessen and others on the Mosaic team form a company to develop the first commercial Web browser, Netscape, piquing the interest of Microsoft Corp. and other developers who would tap the Web's commerce potential. Two immigration lawyers introduce the world to spam, advertising their green card lottery services.

1995: Amazon.com Inc. opens its virtual doors.

1996: Passage of US law curbing pornography online. Although key provisions are later struck down as unconstitutional, one that remains protects online services from liability for their users' conduct, allowing information and misinformation to thrive.

1998: Google Inc. forms out of a project that began in Stanford dorm rooms. US government delegates oversight of domain name policies to Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN. Justice Department and 20 states sue Microsoft, accusing the maker of the ubiquitous Windows operating system of abusing its market power to thwart competition from Netscape and others.

1999: Napster popularizes music file-sharing and spawns successors that have permanently changed the recording industry. World Internet population surpasses 250 million.

2000: The dot-com boom of the 1990s becomes a bust as technology companies slide. Amazon.com, eBay and other sites are crippled in one of the first widespread uses of the denial-of-service attack, which floods a site with so much bogus traffic that legitimate users cannot visit.

2002: World Internet population surpasses 500 million.

2006: World Internet population surpasses 1 billion.

2008: World Internet population surpasses 1.5 billion. China's Internet population reaches 250 million, surpassing the United States as the world's largest. Netscape's developers pull the plug on the pioneer browser, though an offshoot, Firefox, remains strong. Major airlines intensify deployment of Internet service on flights.