I discovered that one way to really spend sooo much time online is to lurk in forums. I used to do that with tennis forums and I must say I learned a lot not only about the current game, but even the history of the sport itself. Nothwithstanding the fact that there are what we call internet trolls, those who infest the forums and create havoc among members by being nasty, there are many point of views from presumably people of all ages that are quite interesting to read.
Lately, I’ve been lurking in Television Without Pity for funny recaps, episode discussions, and spoilers of the TV shows that I follow, old and new. Even the X-Files forum is alive and well there, most especially owing to the new movie. I recently finished watching the finale of House MD, season 4. If you’re a fan of the show, don’t miss the two-part finale, House’s Head/Wilson’s Heart. It’s a real tear-jerker. The writers did a very, very fine job. Bravo.
Back to the forums, I enjoy reading the input of those who hide in avatars and "handles"; those proving that the viewers are the best critic. You’ll be surprised how the in-depth discussion of a particular scene, e.g., what an actor’s eyebrow twitch could’ve meant to contribute to the bigger picture, can sometimes lead to powerful and emotional debates on the nature of humanity itself. Sometimes it’s funny, sometimes annoying, but most of the times it’s informative. I wonder if these shows’ writers lurk among the rest of us to see what the general public is thinking about their stuff. They should, by the way. It might give us better shows at the end of the day.
I cannot begin to tell you how important health insurance is these days. Personally, I’m thankful that getting employed ties you up automatically to certain HMOs. Most especially for my dependents, knowing that you can always go to the hospital or clinic for check-ups because you have insurance makes us more wary about our health, never dismissing signs or symptoms of illness, just because of the added financial burden such events would entail. Considering the steep costs of hospitalization and medical consultations, signing up for an Affordable Health Insurance should be on top of everyone’s priority list.
This site offers Health Insurance Quotes. For U.S. residents, you just have to enter your zip code to get started. The site offers simple, quick, and easy ways to apply, connecting you with insurance agents in your area. Check it out. They even have featured articles on everything from choosing for your individual needs to avoiding insurance scams.
This is it! The reason why I’ve been urging my sister to apply for a cable connection. [As my luck would have it, our apartment was declared "too far" from the main line so it would be pointless to pay P30 per foot of extra cable when it would probably result to bad reception anyway.]
Saturday will be the women’s finals. Meet the new world no. 1 tennis player:
Ana Ivanovic
Photo by FFT (from the official Roland Garros website)
She will play against Russian Dinara Safina who successively beat three compatriots (and top 10 players) on her way to her first Grand Slam final - Sharapova (1; will be no. 2 on Monday), Dementieva (8), and Kuznetsova (4).
On the men’s side, for the third year in a row, Roger Federer will try to win the only title that eludes him. He’s still no. 1 in every respect except every year at about this time. Always in Paris. Always because of this guy:
Rafael Nadal
Photo by FFT (from the official RG website)
I think I’ll be too afraid to watch on Sunday but I will sit through it (Studio 23’s covering the finals) and maybe force myself to be a Nadal fan. But, you know, they say the third time’s the charm.
The new theatrical trailer of X-Files: I Want to Believe is to debut this week. This features all-new images compared with the previously released online trailer.
The iconic sound of The X-Files is making a comeback together with its creator, award-winning composer Mark Snow. Albeit the only words I managed to get out of the new international (Russian) trailer are "Mulder," "Scully," and "paranormal," the trailer looks really good. It sounded great, thanks to the awesome score. I’m so excited to see (and hear) more of TXF!
While waiting for the English version, you can watch the Russian trailer here.
Update: Yahoo! now has the full English trailer.
This is a postscript to my previous post and to a video I featured in my other blog.
After watching Lea Salonga’s concert, I couldn’t help but try to remember how I felt after each of the three live Regine Velasquez concerts I managed to attend in my life so far (fan ba?). The first one was in the late 1990s at U.P. Diliman. It was a free concert in the park. She was at the height of her vocal powers then and I was with two very avid fans. I was so blown away by the performance that I didn’t mind going home dripping wet from the rain that had cut the show short. It was a natural progression to long-term appreciation. The second one was a few years back at Onstage Greenbelt in a concert staged as a tribute to Barbra Streisand. The most recent was at Aliw Theater almost 3 years ago, my least favorite of the three because it had no concept at all - just a bunch of songs sang in succession.
I like this diva best when she sings Tagalog classics such as that George Canseco Medley. It just seems to be a perfect fit to me. But when I discovered a video of her 1989 performance during the Asia-Pacific singing contest, I realized how much work this girl has done to improve herself. Her voice had power then but not nearly that much quality. How she was able to refine that, I can only imagine. Never mind her blunders and overexposure. Her rags to riches story will always command respect from me. Talent can only get you so far. Hardwork and the pursuit of excellence are qualities that I like to work on myself, too, and hopefully someday pass on. Of course I’m not talking about singing here. But if she can do it, maybe in twenty or so years I’ll be able to sing like hell as well.
So much for my blog hiatus.
AP Photo
For someone who had just regained the no.1 spot (because Justine Henin retired) and is the top seed at one of the four major tennis tournaments, Maria Sharapova is making true to her claim that, at least on clay, she’s like a cow on ice. It didn’t take long for this year’s Australian Open champion and last year’s Roland Garros semifinalist to finally bow out after four rounds of not so impressive showing. Her compatriot Dinara Safina (whose initial claim to fame is being the kid sister of Marat Safin) took away the match after Maria had a matchpoint in the second set while serving at 5-3. Final score was 6-7 (6), 7-6 (5), 6-2.
The Associated Press reports that her customary shrieks irked the Parisian crowd who booed her as she left the court. Poor Maria.
[Busy, busy weeks ahead. I’m on a blog hiatus.]
News dump:
Alanis Morrisette has a new album, Flavors of Entanglement
So has Jewel, Perfectly Clear, which is said to be a return to her folk-country roots.
Federer is looking good at the French Open. He’s onto the 4th round. Forget Nadal. The ogre is still winning. But, really, with Novak Djokovic’s sometimes annoying antics, he’s making me like Nadal a lot, lot more.
Sex & the City is currently making waves at the cinemas. I’ll wait for the DVD (read: DVDRip downloads).
Next week will be the opening of Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.
Angelina Jolie hasn’t given birth to twins. But soon.
