BREAKING NEWS: Pugoyski topbills tomorrow's headlines.

Emiliano Jose R. Pugoy, one of the UP Circuit Barkadahan members and an alumnus of UP EEE Batch 2006, is September 2006's Electrical Engineering Licensure Examination topnotcher, garnering a final score of 91.30%. He graduated Cum Laude last April with a Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering. Download the official list of board passers from inq7.net.

Congratulations Emil (and also to Clares and Likha)! We are proud of you guys!

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Painom ka naman YANO! Haha.

Pinoy in Cook Islands

Yet to be confirmed, but I assume that another individual, this time a guy, with Filipino lineage is one of the five mighty Asian-Americans currently ruling the first two episodes of Survivor: Cook Islands under the banner of Pukapuka Tribe. Brad, carrying a familiar Spanish sounding surname Virata (Philippines share common family names with Spain and Latin American countries; and obviously, Virata is identified as an Asian, so there's a high probability that he is a Fil-Am.), joins fellow Fil-Am Jenny Guzon-Bae, Korean-Americans Becky Lee and Yul Kwon and Vietnamese-American Anh-Tuan "Cao Boi" Bui in battling castaways with African, Caucasian and Hispanic bloodlines.

From Survivor: Cook Islands' website, I got Brad's bio.

Brad Virata was raised in the small town of Oak Harbor, Washington, just outside of Seattle. The youngest of five children, he excelled at track, football and volleyball during his teenage years.

Virata received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in international communications from the University of Washington and was an active member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. Shortly after graduation, Virata traveled throughout Europe and Asia working as a model. He then moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in fashion and attended the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. He began working in couture clothing sales and clothing design merchandising for Guess? Men's Division. He spent five years with the company and helped launch the clothing line "Los Angeles Denim Atelier." He currently works as the Director of Men's Merchandising for Lucky Brand Jeans.

Virata is an avid beach volleyball player and surfer. His hobbies include weight training, running, rollerblading, power yoga, beach volleyball and international travel. He is most proud of giving back to his community through work with organizations such as AIDS Project Los Angeles, Project Angel Food, Starlight Foundation and the Big Brothers Program of Los Angeles.

Virata is single and currently resides in Santa Monica, California, with his Boston terrier named Maxx. His birth date is November 23, 1976.

Pinay in Cook Islands

There is a Filipina-American news correspondent included in the roster of the 13th Season of SURVIVOR. Divided into four tribes of five, twenty castaways are sorted based on their racial origins and ethnicity - African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Hispanic Americans and White Americans.

From Survivor: Cook Islands' website, I got Jenny's bio.

Born in Chicago, Jenny Guzon-Bae was raised in the western suburb of Melrose Park, Illinois. A natural tomboy, Guzon-Bae was often found playing football, softball, basketball, climbing trees or racing bikes with the boys in her neighborhood. Despite her parents' efforts to make her more lady-like by enrolling her in ballet and gymnastics (13 years of training), Jenny preferred beating out the boys. It wasn't until high school that Jenny finally embraced her feminine side, but she was still the fierce competitor on the inside.

A skilled writer, Guzon-Bae began honing her skills at age 15 when she was hired as a columnist for VIA Times, the largest minority newspaper in the Chicago area. She eventually graduated college with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in journalism from Columbia College in Chicago. She parlayed her writing skills into the spoken word when she became a television reporter for Chicago's only Filipino-American news program, "Philippine News Reports." Having retired from reporting a few years ago, Guzon-Bae continues to serve her community by emceeing various social events. She is currently a real estate agent.

Guzon-Bae heads up a volleyball league in her spare time. She also enjoys shopping, yoga, pilates, traveling and playing the board game Scrabble. She recently took up fencing, tennis and belly dancing. She enjoys watching boxing, basketball and football.

Guzon-Bae is a member of the North Shore Barrington Association of Realtors.

Guzon-Bae currently resides in Lake Forest, Illinois with her husband, Don, and their son, Casey. They have three dogs: Cola (an Australian Shepherd), Peanut (a Pembroke Corgi) and Sam (an American Eskimo). Her birth date is May 8, 1970.

Music-Lab

An idea that came from Fil (or one of her LiveJournal friends).

List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they're not any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your LiveJournal/Blogger along with your seven songs. Then tag other people to see what they're listening to.

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My selection:

1. "Anything" - THE CALLING
2. "Batang-bata Ka Pa" - SUGARFREE
3. "Bent" - MATCHBOX TWENTY
4. "Breathing" - LIFEHOUSE
5. "God Bless the Broken Road" - RASCAL FLATTS
6. "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" - JORDAN KNIGHT
7. "Trouble" - COLDPLAY

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What's yours?

Celebrity Look-alikes

From the face recognition tool of MyHeritage.com, I found out that I really am a typical Filipino-looking guy even though I have a pinch of German blood from my paternal grandmother.

Here are some of the my celebrity look-alikes with Jericho Rosales appearing the most number of times and some female stars being also shown.

DSP - Digital South Park

Royal Birthday

My birthday was also the day when Japan's first prince since 1965 and possible heir apparent to the Emperor's throne was born.

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Courtesy of:



Wednesday 6 June 2006
TOKYO (AFP) - Japanese newspapers have celebrated the birth of the first new prince in four decades but said the nation still must consider female succession to avert a future crisis.

Princess Kiko was doing well a day after giving birth and the new-born baby, who has yet to be named, was moved into her hospital room, television networks said.

Workers remodeled the house of Kiko and her husband Prince Akishino for the baby, installing a fresh carpet and putting a small kitchen near the newborn prince's room, media said.

Kiko and Akishino, the emperor's second son, have two daughters, the last of whom was born in 1994.

"This is the happiest event for the Imperial family and we would like to congratulate them from the bottom of our hearts," the top-selling Yomiuri Shimbun said in an editorial.

The boy becomes third in the line to the Chrysanthemum Throne, preserving male succession for another generation. Just a year ago, the government looked set to introduce female succession to alleviate a looming crisis.

(More...)
(The Imperial Family)

22

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As I grow a year older, may I become wiser, stronger, better.
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Thank God for the past score plus two. I am looking forward to several decades more.
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LOOKING BACK IN TIME:

Posted by ONIN Saturday 3 June 2006
September 6 in World History

Stingray

Courtesy of:

CAIRNS, Australia - Steve Irwin, the hugely popular Australian television personality and conservationist known as the "Crocodile Hunter," was killed Monday by a stingray while filming off the Great Barrier Reef. He was 44.

Irwin was at Batt Reef, off the remote coast of northeastern Queensland state, shooting a segment for a series called "Ocean's Deadliest" when he swam too close to one of the animals, which have a poisonous barb on their tails, his friend and colleague John Stainton said.

"He came on top of the stingray and the stingray's barb went up and into his chest and put a hole into his heart," said Stainton, who was on board Irwin's boat at the time.

Crew members aboard the boat, Croc One, called emergency services in the nearest city, Cairns, and administered CPR as they rushed the boat to nearby Low Isle to meet a rescue helicopter. Medical staff pronounced Irwin dead when they arrived a short time later, Stainton said.

Irwin was famous for his enthusiasm for wildlife and his catchword "Crikey!" in his television program "Crocodile Hunter." First broadcast in Australia in 1992, the program was picked up by the Discovery network, catapulting Irwin to international celebrity.

He rode his image into a feature film, 2002's "The Crocodile Hunters: Collision Course" and developed the wildlife park that his parents opened, Australia Zoo, into a major tourist attraction.

"The world has lost a great wildlife icon, a passionate conservationist and one of the proudest dads on the planet," Stainton told reporters in Cairns. "He died doing what he loved best and left this world in a happy and peaceful state of mind. He would have said, 'Crocs Rule!'"

(More...)
(What is a stingray?)

BER-days

The Yuletide Season starts today in the Philippines with the first day of the first BER-month September falling on a Friday. It's exactly 115 days before Christmas Day and, ehem, 5 days before my 22nd BIRTHDAY!!! Who would've thought? Haha.

Speaking of BER-days, err, I mean BIRTHDAYS, many of my loved ones and friends (Barkadahan, Berks, LICS, LYC, etc) are celebrating their own birth anniversaries within this season - before 2006 bids farewell. Let's have a quick run down of these beings - you might want to prepare them presents on their special days.

AUGUST
18 - Tatay
30 - Paolo Enrico Encomienda
31 - Norman Edward Valdez

SEPTEMBER
1 - Rica Ana Magbalana
2 - Ryan Joy Mabilin, Arthur Ryan Peña
3 - Mark Anthony Carlos
4 - Mr. Alfred Rivera, Annie Rose Sanoria
6 - Who else? ----> (: ME :)
8 - Anna Katrina Almeda
14 - Baby Krystal
16 - Mark William Despi
17 - Romeliza Ejercito
20 - Leon Marco Ebarle
25 - Marien Dy
29 - Marie Elma Domingo

OCTOBER
5 - Maria Rochelle Diswe
7 - Adrian Menguito
18 - Marco Paolo Florcruz
20 - Elizabeth Sagucio
29 - Winston Sumalia
30 - Juan Feliciano Cuevas
31 - Almond Mendiola, Emiliano Pugoy

NOVEMBER
2 - Kristine Espinosa
4 - Carlos Miguel Castro
5 - Ma. Zasha Alano, Jose Alejandro Angeles
7 - Jim Ruther Nill
13 - Allan "OCHIE" Eviota (Bestfriend1)
17 - Baby Matthew
18 - Romarie Lorenzo
21 - Regina Unsay
22 - Ivy Jhoanna Chua, Arolf John Hubilla (Bestfriend2), John Carlo Lara, Ralph Francis Miranda
23 - Charmaine Diaz
24 - Ate, Maria Filonila Alcaraz, Larisse Gale Garcia, Ann Frances Gondra,
28 - Norilaine Castillo, Ma. Clarissa Contreras, Francis Dave Magbalana

DECEMBER
13 - Neil Michael Axalan, Ron Kelvin Palacol
25 - OUR SAVIOUR
30 - Karlene Denolo, Eugene Opelinia
31 - Joeleth Francisco Al-Bugami, Israel Polintan

Did I miss anyone? I hope I did not. Well, if I did miss any important figure in my life, please notify me immediately so I can update my calendar. Haha.

To all the celebrants/celebrators, HAPPY BIRTHDAY and many more to come! Also, MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR to all (in advance, hehe)!