addicted to Edward Cullen?

Then I bet you’ll love this! Hehe!
Edward Cullen is sooo yummy huh?? Never mind if there are rumors that his rock-hard abs were just airbrushed, LOL! And if you’re NOT A FAN of Edward or vampires and the Twilight saga, then you’ll love this:

HAHAHA! No offense guys!

KRIS ALLEN WINS!!

Hehe! Okay, okay.. I admit I'm jumping the gun here, the two-hour American Idol finale will be on Wednesday night yet (Thursday morning here in the Philippines), but I really, truly, deeply feel that the cutie boy-next-door uber-talented singer and instruments player will win American Idol season 8. WHEW! That was a looong sentence! Hehe! Oh yeah, when I said instruments player, I do not only mean the guitar and piano -- Kris Allen also plays the viola and ukelele. How cool is that?? ^_^ You can read his brief profile (and Adam Lambert's too) HERE.

In this season's Top 13 finalists, I rooted for Anoop Desai and Matt Giraud early on. Both were wild card entries and I just looove their smooth voices. Kris Allen didn't make much of an impression on me. Like most of you, I thought he was just another cute face. Hehe! And I thought it was crap that he was married -- after all, his looks and "eligibility" for hookup are what's attracting voting young girls pining for him. Even Simon Cowell said he should have kept quiet about his marriage. However, his being married didn't stop the girls from voting. Somewhere along the way they found out that Kris Allen is more than just a pretty face.

As for myself, I noticed his talent or ARTISTRY (as American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi put it) on Week 2: Michael Jackson when he sang "Remember the Time" with a guitar. He just blew me away!! ^_^ Then on Week 3: Grand Ole Opry, Kris Allen performed Garth Brooks' "To Make You Feel My Love" -- and I just felt the love! I was swooning! LOL! On Week 4: Motown, he sang Marvin Gaye's "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)" and again I felt the love. However at this time I was pining for Anoop and Matt, was awed with Adam Lambert too, there was no room for Kris yet.. Hehe!

What made me a Kris Allen fan was his Week 5: Top Downloads performance of Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine" on piano!! I was like, what?? He plays the guitar AND a piano as well?? And it was a very moving performance, I felt his emotions, we just connected ;-) Then came his Week 7: Songs From the Cinema performance -- he sang "Falling Slowly" from a little-known movie called "Once" and he just nailed it. His artistry was just mind-blowing! Kris isn't just a singer, he's an artist through and through. I was definitely hooked! ^_^

I became a die-hard fan with his Week 9: Rat Pack Standards performance of "The Way You Look Tonight" -- his eyes were magic! I swooned, I pined, I just fell in love with him. My hubby was like, "He's just another pretty face babe.." and I was like "NO! He really connects with his audience, he's very charismatic.." From then on, I shouted on Twitter and Facebook that he's the guy who's gonna win American Idol 8. Nobody believed me, even Simon Cowell dissed him til Week 10: Rock. That was expected since Kris isn't really a rocker.

But everything changed in Week 11 when Kris Allen sang Kanye West's "Heartless". Everybody loved it, his artistry was all over the place! The judges even thought it was better than the original. WOW!! Simon Cowell also said that Kris was back in the game -- the highest compliment he ever got ^_^ That stellar performance was the one that put Kris Allen in Top 2. And tonight, he and Adam Lambert will have their final showdown. Two unique and oh-so different artists performing 3 songs each means it's gonna be one awesome show! And tomorrow, Kris Allen will be the American Idol 8 champ!! Mark my words!

Lindsay Lohan's latest "escapade"

The sexy starlet has never been away from the paparazzi's spotlight. For the past few weeks, her drastic weight loss (drugs? obssesive dieting? eating disorder? alcohol?) and very public spats with lover Samantha Ronson have been fodder for gossip tabloids. One can't help wonder if her numerous stints in expensive rehabilitation centers in Los Angeles did her any good. I have seen these centers online and boy, they look awesome! It's as if you're just in a resort having a good time and not getting treated for something ;-) Anyway, the latest with Lindsay Lohan was her Friday the 13th fiasco -- a $50,000 warrant was issued for her, stemming from a May 2007 DUI arrest that ended in a trip to rehab for her.

The Beverly Hills Police Department issued this statement: "The $50,000 warrant issued by the Beverly Hills Superior Court stems from a May 2007 arrest of Miss Lindsay Lohan for DUI and hit-and-run. The circumstances leading to the issuance of the warrant by the court are not readily available at this time. It is our hope that Ms. Lohan will surrender herself so that this matter will be resolved in a timely manner." The good news is, yesterday, the warrant was dropped as LiLo's lawyer proved that the actress complied with the court-ordered alcohol treatment program for her DUI misdemeanor. All's well that ends well eh? I hope so coz I really like Lindsay Lohan -- she's talented but her behavioral problems is ruining her =(

the "REAL" slumdog millionaire

Have you watched the award-winning movie yet? If not, you should! It's not really of heavy material but you can take a lot of lessons from it. The lesson I took away from Slumdog Millionaire was "All you need to learn in your life, you'll learn from your EXPERIENCES" =) And lest I'll be misunderstood, I'm making it clear that learning through formal education is also essential. Your experiences in a structured school will be important when you'll work in a structured work environment later. So please, no dropping out of school kids! Hehe! =p

Anyway, if you're one of the moviegoers who saw Slumdog Millionaire and wondered how the uneducated slum kids shown there learned how to speak English, wonder not anymore! It turned out they learned from tourists and more remarkably, they also speak other languages like French, German, Arabic, Nihonggo, etc, etc. You don't believe me? Watch the two videos of a slum kid below. The first one was filmed when he was a kid and the second one was when he was already a teen (and learned newer languages!). Be prepared to be AMAZED by Ravi!

Most purists would say the multi-lingual kid is not really multi-lingual. After all, Ravi *only* knew some words of the languages he spoke -- words that he needs to sell his peacock fans to tourists of different races. But let me ask you, do you know how to introduce yourself in the languages he spoke above? Or lets try something simpler, what's "HELP" in as many languages as you can? Hmm, hard huh? That's why I say hats off to this kid (and his "colleagues") for being very resourceful despite the bad circumstances he's under. And just so you all know, Ravi is my inspiration why I'm studying Nihonggo right now ^_^ God bless India's slum kids!

Chris Brown vs Rihanna

What's the real score?? I have been sympathetic to Rihanna's plight ever since the domestic abuse mess came to light. But her continued silence is really putting me of. I mean, what would all the girls looking up to her think? That it's okay to be abused and just keep quiet about it?? Argghhh!! Of course, until now, we're not 100% sure whether Rihanna was really the girl Chris Brown hit or that he really abused a woman physically. Still, I really hate their silence =( If it's not them, they could just give statement. If it's really Rihanna, condemn domestic abuse and say that she could not share more because of legalities.

It's more than a week after the incident and in Hollywood, a week of silence is eternity! At least Chris Brown has finally spoken out and apologized (Rihanna's "reaction" to it above). Though his apology is generalized and he did not really admit that he committed domestic abuse (who would? LOL). I hope Rihanna will speak out soon. What she's doing is really harmful to what the rights movement for women and children have achieved in the recent years. Also, I'm hating all the other Hollywood stars right now. All I've been hearing from them is that they're friends with both Chris and Rihanna, that he's a good boy, that they're "feeling" for Rihanna -- but there's 0% about domestic abuse! =(

Maybe all this is just much ado about nothing. I'm really hoping for that than think people are covering up a domestic abuse incident coz the involved are celebrities. THAT'S SO 1800s!! Ggrrr!

UPDATE: Here's Rihanna's battered face courtesy of TMZ.com -- sad huh? =(

Rihanna's "statement" about the incident with Chris Brown.

Heath Ledger and Brad Renfro are DEAD!

Last week I was stunned with the news that Brad Renfro died. The cause? Probably drug-related as he had drug problems for the past few years. The night before he died, Brad was drinking with friends, and was later overheard snoring. The next day, he was dead. And guess what? He was just 25, such a young age to die! I have always loved him in The Client and Apt Pupil but since he was out of the limelight for quite a while, his death was not that hard to bear. And yes, I'm usually this sentimental about dying! I was 25 early last year! Imagine if I died, I would not have felt what it is like to just BUM around o_O Anyway, more info about Brad Renfro's death HERE. The Associated Press and other news services got it all wrong -- they were preparing Britney Spears obituary (article HERE) but instead we now have two young promising actors dead. Life.. you really never know what's gonna happen!

Obviously, the more shocking news (which constricted my heart!) was Heath Ledger's death TODAY! Yes, THE Heath Ledger of Brokeback Mountain fame! He was only 28, and his death was what prompted me to write this post. I was still recovering from Brad's death when this one hit me! Heath's death I couldn't believe coz he wasn't really into drugs and stuff. In fact, he has become quite mature ever since he had a baby girl (Matilda) with Michelle Williams. Unfortunately, the Aussie couple separated last September 2007. The last time I saw Heath (personalan na ah! hehe) was early this year in the trailer of The Dark Knight (a Batman movie) where he is the Joker. He was really good -- menacing, crazy, creepy, diabolical Joker -- he had it down pat! A very promising, talented actor he surely is. And now, he's dead?? *shakes head*

The cause of his death, again, might be drug-related. Heath was found in his bed, naked and face down, surrounded with prescription pills. Media outlets are reporting the pills found were sleeping pills. But his family said he was not the kind to take his own life so this must be an accidental death. Heath was sick with pneumonia so the drugs and pills he might have taken reacted adversely, causing his death. For now we don't know but an autopsy is scheduled tomorrow to rule out foul play. Heath was filming The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (that's his creepy character in the photo, hanging himself) when he died. I wonder who'll take his place in the movie now that he's dead. Lastly, I strongly feel something's amiss with Heath Ledger ever since he separated from Michelle Williams. He had been doing creepy, strange and depressing roles (a hard core drug addict in CANDY, psycho Joker in TDK, and now hanging himself in The Imaginarium). I wonder what's really wrong.. More info about his death HERE and HERE.