The 2002 Miss Universe pageant was broadcast via RPN-9 starting a little past eight this morning. The contest wrapped up just a tad before two in the afternoon.

The sponsors’ advertisements constituted roughly four-fifths of the entire broadcast period, and that is being conservative in estimating.

My uncle and I had practically the same bets for the crown. In no particular order: China, Russia and Venezuela. Not bad, considering all three of them made it to the Final Five.

Personally, what I liked most about the whole, tedious-to-watch show was the “Determining” question, the one that has to be answered by all the finalists: What makes you blush?

Simple, but it makes a person stop and think.

Here are the results:

Miss Universe: Russia (also Best in Swimwear)
Runner-ups
First: Panama
Second: China (also Best in Evening Gown)
Third: South Africa
Fourth: Venezuela

The rest of the Top Ten
Albania
Germany
Cyprus
India
Canada

Special Awards
Most Photogenic: Puerto Rico
Miss Congeniality: US Virgin Islands

In other news, my father bought me a brand-new, glittering Nokia 3310. I now have the same unit as my mother.

To honor this gift, I downloaded three new ringtones and proudly made Obi-Wan Kenobi as my operator logo.

I was able to watch Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of the Clones on its first day in Iloilo City theatres.

In fact, I just got home from watching it at SM City. I had a movie dinner, one of my favorite indulgences of late.

The movie did not disappoint. It had solid characters and good plot flow, with some of the most stunning computer-generated effects that I have ever come across on the silver screen.

I particularly loved the new pixel incarnation of Jedi Master Yoda, who could very well take on Jet Li, Neo, Spider-Man or anyone out there who could do the Matrix-like mid-air stunts. The movie likewise gave the Jedi Order the recognition it deserves. If the Jedi Knights do exist, I would very much like to join them, especially if I get awesome teachers like Yoda, Mace Windu, and, of course, Obi-wan Kenobi.

Hayden Christensen was a very good choice for the future Darth Vader. He has the right innate pagnanasa for it. The look in his eyes moments after his mother Shmi died in his arms was already a foreshadowing of darker things to come.

Ewan McGregor’s Obi-wan Kenobi, whom I expected to burst into song anytime, was my favorite character. He had the right gruffness, the tempered power and wisdom, of a paternal mentor figure. Samuel L. Jackson’s Mace Windu also had the charisma to take over the scene and radiate leadership and strength.

Clones was a good prequel, and one could already spot some aspects that would soon take bigger roles in the Star Wars saga. Among these are the rise to power of the then-Chancellor Palpatine, the formation of the Stormtrooper Army, the growing vengeance of the young Boba Fett, and the early designs of the Death Star ship, among many others.

The one thing I personally found most amusing about the whole movie was the presence of Christopher Lee, who played the Separatist/Federation leader Count Dooku. It is very well known that he also played the traitorous Saruman in The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. His dialogue with the captive Obi-wan in Clones and the defeated Gandalf in Fellowship of the Ring went along similar lines.

It sort of goes like this: “Join me, Obi-wan (Gandalf), and together we will destroy the Sith (rule Middle Earth).”

In both instances his invitation was refused, too.

Here is the movie summary from Amazon.com:

If The Phantom Menace was the setup, then Attack of the Clones is the plot-progressing payoff, and devoted Star Wars fans are sure to be enthralled.

Ten years after Episode I, Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman), now a senator, resists the creation of a Republic Army to combat an evil separatist movement. The brooding Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) is resentful of his stern Jedi mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), tormented by personal loss, and showing his emerging “dark side” while protecting his new love, Amidala, from would-be assassins.

Youthful romance and solemn portent foreshadow the events of the original Star Wars as Count Dooku (a.k.a. Darth Tyranus, played by Christopher Lee) forges an alliance with the Dark Lord of the Sith.

Rosanna Roces, or Osang to her die-hard fans, won the Best Actress plum in the recently-concluded Urian Awards, for the Chito Rono movie La Vida Rosa.

She tied for the honor with Assunta de Rossi (Hubog). However, Assunta had already won other awards for her work in this film. This is Osang’s first plum in the dramatic genre.

Rosanna was not given the honor long overdue to her prowess as an acting lead in two previous stunning performances, Ligaya ang Itawag Mo sa Akin (Call Me Joy) and Babae sa Bintana (Woman at the Window).

It is about time that Urian, arguably the most prestigious of all Philippine cinema’s award-giving bodies, has decided to take notice and give recognition to her talent and skill.

I am very delighted at this. Osang has proven that a Filipino actress can break out of the TF (Titillating Film) mold and prove that she has serious on-screen mettle.

However, this year’s Urian was almost swept by the awakening-to-one’s-roots film shot in the United States, Batang West Side. It is a bittersweet dramatic coup, as against the rougher realism in La Vida Rosa.

Batang West Side won Best Picture and Best Director, with stars Joel Torre and Gloria Diaz capping the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress plums respectively.

Spider-Man was simply, forgive a ridiculously overused adjective, amazing.

Hollywood.com could not have put it any better when their review said that the film was delivered with aplomb. It gave admirable tribute to one of the most beloved superheroes and long-lasting series in comicdom.

The choice of Tobey Maguire for the lead role was perfect. His portrayal of the title character possessed the vulnerability, chutzpah and fortitude that made a very lovable geek superhero out of Peter Parker. He gave Elijah Wood’s Frodo Baggins a run for his money for portraying The Hero Most Likely to Get Hugged by Any Girl When She Sees Him Crying. Or something like that.

Willem Dafoe, whom I adored greatly in The Last Temptation of Christ, was a darkly disturbed and dangerous Green Goblin.

I would have liked it much better if they had not covered Willem’s face so much. The mere sight of those cheekbones of his gives me the shivers. Kirsten Dunst also portrayed Mary Jane Watson with the right blend of ditziness and depth.

My favorite character, however, is the always-harassed, cigar-puffing, highly caffeinated and opinionated editor of The Daily Bugle, J. Jonah Jameson. He was so well fleshed-out by the incredible J.K. Simmons that you could not help but love to hate him.

My close second much-adored character is Uncle Ben, played by Cliff Robertson. The look on his face when Peter told him in the car that he “should stop pretending to be (his) father” just about broke my heart.

I also enjoyed the cameos of various interesting personalities in the entertainment world. Foremost is that of comic book living legend Stan Lee, who got about three seconds or so of screen time during the World Unity Festival attack of the Green Goblin. Stan was seen trying to pull a child out of the way of falling building debris.

Randy Savage appeared during the amateur wrestling bouts and Macy Gray performed onstage during the aforementioned festival. Macy’s presence might prove to be a lucky charm, because she also shed “grace” on Denzel Washington’s Training Day, from which the actor won the Oscar for Best Actor earlier this year.

Danny Elfman’s music was grand, reminiscent of his work on the first Batman movie when there were less techno-alternative frills and more heart and contemplation.

Speaking of Batman, however, the Green Goblin’s Choose Which One To Catch game on the bridge screamed Batman Forever, where The Riddler made Batman choose as to whom between Robin and Chase Meridian he would catch as they both plunged from a great height to their impending deaths.

For more Spidey goodies, visit the official site or browse through this extensive Rotten Tomatoes review and multimedia archive.

This article, written in response a review of the Shoujo Kakumei Utena movie, presents an interesting What If? angle to the unique mythos of this groundbreaking anime series.

What if, indeed, Utena, The Prince, were a male character to begin with? Would the characters have acted/reacted in the ways that they had in the present series?

The ultimate reason why Utena fought in the duels was to Revolutionize the world. Anthy, her prize for beating Saionji in the beginning of the series, only came as some sort of extra because the latter had been dissing a friend of hers. This pissed Utena off so she wanted to get even.

It was not really for personal gain or greatness that she fought, unlike Saionji, Touga or the Black Rose duellists. Perhaps it was Utena’s child-like idealism that enabled her to beat Akio and, in essence, free Anthy in the end.

Had Utena been a guy, I suppose the duels would be motivated more by machismo, at least to a certain degree, as the one holding supreme influence over the duels is another man, Akio Ohtori. The male Utena would not have liked that because it would seem that “he” and Akio stand as two sides of the same coin: they both desire power, though their respective uses may or will vary greatly.

The male Utena would also be much less susceptible to the effects of Akio’s smooth, dashing, debonair seduction, because if “he” has the Rose Bride, well, there may already be an alternate distraction. It is not far off that a male Utena and the Rose Bride may, indeed, develop closeness to an even more, shall we say, intimate degree.

I agree with the post that Shoujo Kakumei Utena deals with gender and growing up for the most part. It is because our sexuality and our innate need to develop deeper awareness of the things around us influence our motivations and choices in this Great Duel called Life.

Here is the basic plot of the Utena movie, from Amazon.com:

Utena duels her classmates to protect her friend Anthy, who is the key to a magical power that could make her dream – to become a prince – come true.

But Anthy hides a terrible secret, and Utena must face the truth about herself and those she loves and learn what it means to be a true hero.

In a Virtua Fighter mailing list, someone asked if anyone knew the original Japanese term for Akira Yuki’s “Stun Palm of Doom” move.

Interesting question. I believe it was also one of showcase moves in the anime, which was repeated in slow-motion and then explained by the voice-over narrator. The downside to this, however, is that the anime’s episodes had been dubbed in Filipino when they were shown in the country. The local voice actor sort of just burbled the Japanese words out.

As far as I could discern, the Stun Palm move is very likely from the practice of Aikido. I absolutely love this fighting style, although it is not really meant for the extensive use of smaller fighters, yours truly being one of them.

Aikido, or even Akira’s “Eight Extreme Fists” or Hakkyoku-ken, is for those who have the breadth and height to go close in without fear of being engulfed to death in his opponent’s arms.

Cold garlic bread and ice-cold chocolate milk tea is a very good combination for breakfast on a hot summer day. Everyone should try it. Just the right blend of sweetness and bite.

With today being Labor Day, there is no work and school for everyone.

As expected, numerous demonstrations and protest marches took place all over the country. Most of these were organized and attended by worker groups and labor unions, as well as left-wing groups that are proudly passionate in their perpetual “militant struggle.”

I spent the holiday at home, scouring through my bookshelves. I came across the entire X-Men: Fatal Attractions series set in the dusty stacks and, struck by nostalgia for love of this series, read straight through all six issues.

The arc, circa 1993, is arguably one of the most well-written X-Men sagas, alongside the classic Dark Phoenix saga written by the prolific Chris Claremont.

I was surfing through random sites when I came across an interesting list. It is from this blog. This is one of the best pieces I have ever come across that extols the virtues of being a coffeeholic.

Read away and thusly subject thyself to intense heart palpitations:

You Know You’re Drinking Too Much Coffee When…
1. You ski uphill.
2. You speed walk in your sleep.
3. You answer the door before people knock.
4. You sleep with your eyes open.
5. You just completed another sweater and you don’t know how to knit.
6. You grind your coffee beans in your mouth.
7. You have to watch videos in fast-forward.
8. The only time you’re standing still is in an earthquake.
9. You lick your coffeepot clean.
10. Your eyes stay open when you sneeze.
11. The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse.
12. You can type sixty words a minute with your feet.
13. You don’t need a hammer to pound nails.
14. You don’t sweat, you percolate.
15. You’ve worn out the handles on your favorite mug.
16. You’ve built a miniature city out of plastic stirrers.
17. People get dizzy just watching you.
18. People can test their batteries in your ears.
19. When someone asks you, “How are you?” you answer, “Good to the last drop.”
20. Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil.
21. You go to sleep just so you can wake up and smell the coffee.
22. Your Thermos is on wheels.
23. You can outlast the Energizer Bunny.
24. You don’t even wait for the water to boil anymore.
25. You think being called a drip is a compliment.
26. You don’t tan, you roast.
27. You don’t get mad, you get steamed.
28. You soak your dentures in coffee overnight.
29. You think CPR stands for “Coffee Provides Resuscitation.”

Whoever wrote this knows me so well it is scary.