Georgia On My Mind

I am a Taylor Hicks fan.  Yes, I'm not ashamed to admit it.  There's something about a white-haired 29-year old that intrigues me. No, it's not because he has the vocal stylings of Joe Cocker (hehe), or the unique mannerisms of Ray Charles, it is because he loves what he does.  And best of all, he's pretty darn good at it.  He's the exact opposite of what people expect of an American Idol, and that's what's best about him.  

Because of the popularity of old soul classics from Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, and the rest of Motown as of late, some bashers might consider him a copycat.  A wannabe.  A hick, if you will.  I don't care.  I just hope he does well so the rest of the world can see that even someone who doesn't look like Justin Timberlake can be a star. 

Here We Go Again

(This is a continuation of The Last Stop)

Once again, Singapore has proven once again that their official tourism slogan, "Uniquely Singapore", truly embodies the Singaporean spirit. Aside from the sometimes-unintelligible and rage-inducing elbows you get from old biddies on the subway, Singapore is totally unique.

One thing to note is that Singapore is the only country in the world (to my knowledge), whose General Elections is unscheduled. By unscheduled, it means that the Administration, lovingly called the gahmen, ("Government" with a Singaporean twang, get it? I didn't, at first.) can call for the elections whenever they jolly well want to. Huh? I'm expecting an election to be announced pretty soon, as is the trend in Singapore, just after announcing a budget, which gives away billions of dollars to citizens. Never mind, that the money actually comes from the citizens themselves. I guess the gahmen is already satisfied with the interest they earn on the money of tax-payers.

Another "Uniquely Singapore" moment is the disqualification of supposedly dangerous candidates to incumbent office-holders. Example: Last year, an election was to be held for the presidency of Singapore. Yeah, yeah, all of us know that the position of President is merely a title given away to loyal supporters of the current administration, but please, give us folks a holiday, man! The ONE day that workers have a day off fromm the usual bullshit of work. But of course, as usual, the election, if you can call it that, was cancelled, because of a lack of "suitable" candidates running against the incumbent. Of course, there would be no candidates, you disqualified them all! Grrr...

Just recently, another potential candidate, this time for the GE, was deemed to be bankrupt by the courts when he was ordered to pay astronomical damages to the former Prime Minister and father of the current Prime Minister. This happens merely a few months before the GE. Coincidence or conspiracy? You decide.

Just wondering. Why is it that news from the recent budget is missing one key component. In my opinion, the key component. This is the increase of the GST from the currently expensive 5% to the unreasonable rate of 7%. The media has been noticibly quiet about this piece of "good news". I predict that they will talk it after the elections. After Singaporeans re-vote for the incumbent who will, in no immediate future, be unseated.

Singapore, the only place where the saying "the only constant is change" is meaningless. Uniquely Singapore. Sigh....

Eye of the Tiger

When I went back to Manila, it coincided with the Return of the King...of Philippine boxing, Manny "The PacMan" Pacquiao. This diminutive fireball, has captured the hearts and minds of the Filipino masses by defeating Eric "El Terrible" Morales in the 10th round during their fight at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Pacquiao's victory was hailed as the triumph of the Filipino. I have a friend who sells sporting equipment, including boxing gloves, punching bags, etc. She mentioned to me that her sales of boxing equipment has doubled since the much-celebrated victory.

Like any Filipino who has made it into the world stage, Pacquiao received much acclaim and praise from his peers and from the much-despied administration. In true political fashion, the President hosted the boxer at the presidential residence, Malacañang Palace. Hopefully, the PacMan is smart enough to avoid the path taken by former boxers like Onyok Velasco, who,after his silver medal in the 2000 Olympics, faded into obscurity, and once again, in poverty.

In the meantime, the PacMan enjoys his fame, including a hit single(yes, folks, he sings)..."Para Sayo"..which goes...

"Para sayo, ang laban na 'to. Hindi ako susuko..." This fight's for you. I won't give up. How apt.

Only in the Philippines.

Manila

I just came back from a much-needed respite from Manila, my hometown. Living in Singapore these past few years have definitely dulled my senses, in terms of safety awareness and most of all, in the appreciation of the fairer sex. Not that the ladies here in Singapore all look like dogs, but the sighting of a truly beautiful woman is more prevalent there. There are notable hotties here in Singapore, namely...





However, I can't help but compare them to ladies like these...

This is why I miss home.