Thursday, June 18, 2009

UP is Top University in the Philippines in QS Top University Rankings 2009


No surprises there, the University of the PHILIPPINES (ehem...my alma mater...ehem) is still the top University/College in the Philippines, ranking #63 in the 2009 "Top 200 Asian Universities" of QS.com Top Universities. It is tied at 63 with Universitas GADJAH MADA of Indonesia.

Other Philippine Universities that ranked are the De la Salle University #76, the Ateneo de Manila University #84, and the University of Santo Tomas #144.

According to the site, this is the first regional ranking from QS Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd, the compilers of the Times Higher Education - QS World University Rankings. Previously published rankings were all Global rankings. In the 2008 Global ranking, UP ranked #276, a big jump from the previous year's #398 ranking.

The 2009 Top Asian Universities are as follows...
#1 University of HONG KONG Hong Kong
#2 The CHINESE University of Hong Kong Hong Kong
#3 University of TOKYO Japan
#4 HONG KONG University of Science and Technology Hong Kong
#5 KYOTO University Japan
#6 OSAKA University Japan
#7 KAIST - Korea Advanced Institute of Scie... Korea, South
#8 SEOUL National University Korea, South
#9 TOKYO Institute of Technology Japan
#10 National University of Singapore (NUS) Singapore, tied with
#10 PEKING University China

For the full ranking, visit QS.com Top Universities.


*A quick note on the attached video: The UP Concert Chorus singing UP's alma mater song, UP Naming Mahal. It is taken from BUKLOD TANGI VCD, produced by UP Dilliman Office of the Vice Chancellor, Chancellor, and the Office for Initiatives in Culture and the Arts (OICA). Copyright 2001. All rights reserved.

P.S. I was part of the group that recorded it! But didn't make it to the shooting of the video. :(

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Wednesday, June 17, 2009

I'm on http://twitter.com/reyjrdotcom

I didn't think I would make one, but after reading an article on Time magazine, I was convinced.
So here's me:

Follow me on Twitter!







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Tuesday, June 16, 2009

My (lousy) Pussycat Dolls in Manila Concert Experience

On June 11, Liz, Bing and I went to the Mall of Asia concert grounds to see us some dolls: some Pussycat Dolls.

We had scored some discounted tickets c/o Clear shampoo, went on leaves from work, rocked sexy outfits (the ladies only hehe) and made our way, (the first time for me) to the Mall of Asia. We didn't have a hard time finding it at all, it's kind of hard to miss with that huge globe. Anyway, if you need directions, just leave a comment, I give OC directions. Haha.

Anyway, we arrived at around 5 in the afternoon, already a bit late from the 3pm we originally planned. Luckily, a lot of people also had the same idea as most of them arrived at 7pm!

Not to say that there weren't a lot of people already. There were several lines already beside the entrances, one for VIP, 1 for Gold, 2 lines for Silver and one major line for Bronze. I was actually beginning to get pissed because the lines were so disorganized and the guards and the bouncers were doing nothing to organize the lot. When we were about to enter, there was this one guard who was making us separate into a line for males and a line for females. I'm like, we'll we've lined up "mixed" and nobody was organizing so don't start organizing just when we're about to enter the gates! :p Good thing Liz was there to stop me from going ballistic on the poor dude.

Anyhow, I also didn't have time to do my litany because they were letting us in already, it was just before 6pm then. We got in, picked a good spot, then I went to get us some snacks, there was Itallianis, Fish & Co. and other stalls offering finger-snacks.

I forgot to mention that this concert was the first ever concert that I watched. Unfortunately, it kind of traumatized me enough to not want to watch another concert in the near future... here's why...

We got a good place to stand, right at the barricade for "Silver", a bit on the right side, but there were no chairs, so we were standing there the whole time, being squished by people from all sides.

QYORK and the Philippine All Stars were the front act (we thought it would be Lady Gaga). They were fine, except for that one guy singing the melody, or some sort of melody which I couldn't really understand. They were a bit boring. :p The Philippine Allstars, I was already a fan of, so I enjoyed their bit even though I couldn't really see any dance moves from that far away. It was then that I realized that I wasn't going to enjoy the concert at all. We were not the farthest from the stage, but we were far enough. The PCD would be just as big as grasshoppers (not ants hehe), and we won't be able to see their sexy dance moves. Damn it. :p

At around 9PM, the Pussycat Dolls went onstage (mind you, we've already been standing for over 3 hours by then!) and they were awesome. There was one missing Doll, red-haired Jessica was in the US because of a dancing injury, but the rest of them were there in high adrenaline and giving a great show.

They sang all their hits: Don't Cha, When I Grow Up, Stick Wit You, Buttons, Beep, and loads more. I was trying my best to enjoy the concert ('coz we did pay for it right?), I tried to move with the music but couldn't because I was being squished by everyone from all sides. I was behind Liz, and we were just swaying a little bit to what the space allowed us to sway.

But the worst part of it really for me was this girl who was right behind me, singing to every song... OUT OF TUNE. I mean, c'mon, it's great that you know all their songs, and it's okay to sing because it's fun, but SHOUTING in my ear is not fun for me at all. And this went on for the WHOLE duration of the concert. She did not miss one note, not one.

On the other end, the BEST part of the show for me was the part when part-Filipino, part-German, part-Hawaiian, American Nicole Scherzinger, lead Pussycat Doll, said in a sort of teary-eyed, i-feel-a-lump-in-my-throat way, "I'm really proud to be... to be... ... Filipina.." which of course elicited cheers from the throng. It was so dramatic it was kind of hard to watch. Haha! Nevertheless, we are proud of you Nicole! We really are!

Just makes you wonder though, does she also say that when she's in Germany? heh heh heh...

After all of that was over, we were so tired we didn't even stay to watch the fireworks display. We went straight to the hotdog stand, then to the toilet, then to the car and to bed. lol.

Might be a while before I go to watch another open air concert.





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Sunday, June 14, 2009

Fox's "Glee" will be a huge hit in the Philippines too

Nope, they haven't shown it here in the Philippines, but from the trailer I found on YouTube and the reviews I've read, I think "Glee", the new musical comedy series from Fox will be a big hit in the Philippines too.

Filipinos are very musical people, this is evident in the sheer number of choirs from universities, high schools, churches, companies, towns... anywhere where there's enough people, there's a choir. Haha! And here you have a series about a choir! A Glee Club! Haha. Actually, I'm excited that they're putting choirs back into the mainstream. A couple of years ago they did a series in the US called "Clash of the Choirs", I dunno how that ended up. But here's a series, on primetime TV, about a choir! (Why am I excited? I was a choir member for 6.5 years!)

Here's the trailer of the pilot episode of "Glee"...

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Swinging with "The Real Group" and "The Swingle Singers"

I've been absent from Theme Thursday for the past couple of weeks. But since this week's theme was my suggestion, then I will play! The theme for this week is: "SWING". I gave a few suggestions in the "Whoops" theme post and mentioned about possibly moving to "verbs" after taking on several "noun" themes. I think verbs can prove to give a broader spectrum, and hopefully get our creative juices flowing. I was really interested in themes that can be interpreted in a lot of different ways so that the posts will also be as varied! Anyhow, here's my take on this week's theme...

The Real Group

"It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!" I have been particularly interested in a song for quite a while but never really researched about it until now! I was introduced to it via this version by The Real Group, an amazing, amazing professional vocal group composed of 5 singers from Sweden. The group itself was formed about 25 years ago. Current members Emma Nilsdotter, Katarina Henryson, Anders Edenroth, Peder Karlsson, and Anders Jalkéus.

Here's a video of The Real Group singing "It Don't Mean a Thing (If it Ain't Got That Swing)".... It's LIVE!



"It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" is a 1931 composition by Duke Ellington with lyrics by Irving Mills, now accepted as a jazz standard. The music was written and arranged by Ellington in August 1931 during intermissions at Chicago's Lincoln Tavern and was first recorded by Ellington and his orchestra for Brunswick Records (Br 6265) on February 2, 1932. - Wiki


The Swingle Singers

Now, the Swingle Singers is an 8-member, multi-Grammy Award winning, acapella singing group formed in 1962, but is still around today (with new singers of course!).

I was lucky enough to meet one of the Swingle Singers personally in 2000 during the Aberdeen International Youth Festival (AIYF) in Scotland: composer, arranger, choral conductor, teacher and singer Mr. Ben Parry was first Bass with the swingle singers from 1987 to 1992.

The Swingle Singers are now part of the music for the new Fox series "Glee", a musical comedy. It's not being shown here in the Philippines yet, but from news stories and the trailer, it sounds like it will be a huge hit here too. Here's why I think so!






Tuesday, June 09, 2009

Pinay Scandal / Pinoy Scandal




Welcome everyone! Go ahead and click, it's safe!

Better late than never! This post is in support of a project that began on Macuha.com way back in 2007. It was simply called "Pinay scandal". The goal was to steer Google searches away from websites containing Filipinas on "display" and direct them instead to these blog posts. Keyword "Pinay scandal" is one of the biggest all time keywords in the Philippines, and when I checked, apparently, "Pinoy scandal" is even bigger. Lol!


Welcome men, women, boys and girls. I apologize if this was not what you were looking for, but since you're here anyway, why don't you SUBSCRIBE?

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Okay Okay, I don't want you to leave empty handed (ehem...) so here's something for all y'all.

For all of your who came here looking for something Asian, something exotic, something that you'll want over and over again... why not try some eel! ----->>>>

I had some EEL for the first (and only) time on a business trip to Singapore. It was quite delectable actually, the sauce was very good. The meat of the eel itself was surprisingly very much like fish, and not at all like how I expected it (I had initially thought it would be something like squid...)

Now that that's done, let's move on!
Here are some of the bloggers that participated in this exercise!
The Pinay scandal hit list:
  1. Wanna know the latest trend about Pinay Scandal? by Dexter of Tech At Hand
  2. Pinay Scandal… The Issue by Darang Sisa
  3. Pinay Scandal by Almer Viloria
  4. Google Suggested Pinay Scandal by Ada
  5. Pinay Scandal by Ada
  6. Pinay Scandal by Catzie
  7. Pinay Scandal by Mina
  8. Pinay Scandal by Jehzeel Laurente
  9. Pinay Scandals: Earning Big Bucks? by Nika
  10. Looking For Pinay Scandals?! by Eli
  11. Pinay Scandal by Eligio
  12. Pinay Scandal by Stentorized
  13. Pinay Scandal by Caryl
  14. Pinay Scandal o Iskandalosang Pinay by Kengkay
  15. Pinay Scandal by Hazel
  16. Pinay Scandal by Baby Face
  17. Pinay Scandal Story by Pinoy Ambisyoso
  18. Pinay Scandal by Kenneth
  19. Pinay Scandal by JoanJoyce
  20. Pinay Scandal, Anyone? by MyGlitch
  21. Pinay Scandal Here by Jojitah
  22. “Pinay Scandal” Idea by Neil
  23. Pinay Scandal… In The Mind Of Pinays by Marikenya
  24. The Pinay Scandal - Most Outrageous and Raw Scandal by Chuva
  25. Pinoy Scandal Survivor No. 1 Proud Filipina: Julie Borje by Marikenya
  26. Pinay Scandal by Chuvaness
  27. The Best of Pinay Scandals by Rhodilee
  28. Pinay Scandal by Che
  29. Pinay Scandal by JeanGrey
  30. Pinay Scandal Revealed! by Glitchline
  31. Pinay Scandal on the Web by Philippine Elections 2007
  32. Pinay Scandal, Let’s Play The Trend by Selaplana
  33. The Hottest Pinay Scandals by iRonnie
  34. Blog About Filipina, Pinay Scandal And Vedio by Allen
  35. Pinay Scandal Video by Ronald Mojica
  36. Pinay Scandal by Paulyn
  37. Pinay Scandal Videos by Mi
  38. Pinay Scandals by Rhyannefranz
  39. Pinay Scandal Revealed! by Mesothelioma Info
  40. Pinay Scandal or Pinay Sex Scandal SEO Project by Lestat
  41. Pinay Scandal Here by Ronald
  42. Sex And Pinay Scandal Videos Sell by Blogging Pinay
  43. Pinay Scandal / Pnay Scandal: 18 Above Only by Ceefive
  44. Pinay Scandal Me by Marlene
  45. Pinay Scandal in Baguio City by Reyna Elena
  46. Pinay Scandal, Performing In Bubbles by Kotsengkuba
  47. The Famous Pinay Scandal Keyword by Edward
  48. The Pinay Scandal Advocates by Lestat
  49. Pinay Scandal Free Download Available by Allen
  50. Pinay Sex Scandal by Culture Shiok
  51. Pinay Scandal Free Download by Derek
  52. Pinay Scandal by Pusa
  53. Pinay Scandal? Think Again by Babyface
  54. Pinay Scandals: The Wrong Turn by Lady Influence
  55. Pinay Scandal by Agloco Philippines
  56. Pinay Scandals Are Dominating The Web by Pinoy World
  57. Pinay Scandal Is A Hit by The Pinoy Blogger Reviews
  58. Rampant Pinay Scandal by Eduard
  59. Watch as the True Pinay Scandal Goes Down by Dark Knight
  60. Pinay Scandal by Pinoytek
  61. Pinay Scandal by Zigfred
  62. Pinay Scandal by Julia
  63. Exposing Pinay Scandals by Ruth
  64. Download Pinay Scandals 3gp for your Phone For Free by Jam
  65. Pinay Scandal (For Adults Only) by Apol
  66. Pinay Scandal In The Mountainsby Banco De Reyna
  67. Pinay Scandal sa Ombudsman by Manilenya
  68. Batangas Scandal by Batangueno.net
  69. Not Another Pinay Scandal by GoBuzzYourSelf
  70. Pinay Scandals by Nursing Crib
  71. I am Pinay and this is a Pinay Scandal by Agnes
  72. Pinay Scandal Anew by Seek No More
  73. Pinay Scandal OMG! by ExcEsc
  74. Pinay Scandal - Pinay Celebrity Scandal - 3gp Scandal Download by Pinay Celebrity Online
  75. Pinay Scandal (with Photo!) by Seven.Senses
  76. Best Pinay Scandal by The Filipino Web
  77. Pinay Scandal, Amateur Filipina Sex Videos Download by archondigital.com
  78. The Pinay Scandal SEO Saga by Snow

Just leave a comment if you want to be added to this list! (which blatantly copied from Macuha's site, hehehe. Thanks dude!)