Teen Driving Issues

Whenever I watch our local newscast here in the Philippines, I always see one or two segments about road accidents. Before, I was surprised to hear such news on TV but now I guess I just take it as a normal happening, which is bad.

But that's the truth, a lot of road accidents involve bikes, cars and the people who happen to drive them or be the driver's companion.

Just like what happened to the Union City Teen who died days ago. This guy apparently lost control as he went all the way with an incredible speed in his car.

He died from serious injuries brought about by the accident while his companion was taken to the hospital for some immediate attention.

Take note that this wasn't the first incident documented ever in the US (and same here in our country). But my question is: Why are these mishaps look like a common thing nowadays?

Who is responsible for all these road accidents involving teens? Is it the parent who's supposed to guide these teens, the teens who's supposed to know (as early as now) what are the things they should be responsible for or the law enforcers who should always be visible to apprehend road offenders? Call it chicken and egg question, but I wanted to hear from you.

Dropped Paid Entrecard Ads

In one of my previous posts, I told you how excited I become when I have found out that there are a lot of paid Entrecard ads waiting for my approval. It is like looking at my blog differently then, because I thought that when you got a lot of pending paid ads for approval, it means that your blog is getting a lot of attention, that makes your blog worthy for ad placement.

But when I learned about this affecting the non-paid ads, then I started to think about it. Please don't get me wrong. It is not like I don't want to help Entrecard to earn, because I have been letting these paid ads to be on my blog for weeks. But when I notice the drop of EC based ad placement, that made me worry a bit.

I also noticed that a number of bloggers are beginning to cancel their paid ads and bluntly placing badges about their stand not to approve paid ads. I don't know what will be the implication of not approving EC paid ads but I wanted to respect the effort made by the bloggers who placed non-paid ads on my blog. :)

Pacman Mom's Five Gowns on her 60th Birthday

Yes, you heard it right, Pacman's Nanay Dionesia Pacquiao wore five expensive and elegant gowns as she celebrated her 60th birthday last Friday night.

Who could've imagined that she will have bigwigs from business, politics and showbizness when before she was a simple mother to her seven kids? Now, she is enjoying all the blessings and the attention brought about by the recent triumph of her son Manny Pacquiao.

I don't have anything against how she planned her birthday, Manny has the budget to call for such big celebration. The family had the legwork of people willing to help them carry on such grand party.

That was her way to thank God and herself for working so hard as a mom. And if there are other things that she wanted to experience for herself, let her be. She would probably call it over as soon as she became happier and more grateful of her blessings to share it to others in need. :)

Own or Rent?

If given the chance, will you prefer to own or rent your place?

In my opinion, there's no sweet and safe security that will equal to you owning your own place. It is like having a great fortune to think that you have something that you have total control of.

Although of course, it will not always be easy if you want to own one. You have to go through all the rigors of saving money, letting go of your little luxuries and learning some technicalities about owning a property.

Just like what we are experiencing right now. We just finished paying the equity of the townhouse that we got months ago. Now, my fiance Johann is the one in charge of monitoring the building and construction from time to time since he is now living in the same village where we bought the house.

Of course, that was just one phase of payment that was done. We still have to apply for a government housing loan and pay for it for a certain term (while having it rented because we now have another and much bigger house to look out for).

While we are doing that, we also have to pay a certain amount to my parents after our wedding because we are planning to stay in the house that my parents bought but was placed under my name. So technically, we have to take care of two houses, what a blessing! :)

But that also means that we should have to work double time to make money online and work on our future budget together. :)

So that's our take on it. How about you? Would you rather own your place or rent a space? :)

Slumdog's Child Actor is Homeless

Slumdog's child actor is struggling in the movie and in real life?

I just read this news article over Yahoo this morning and it really kept me puzzled for minutes. According to the article, Azharuddin Ismail, the child actor was sleeping when the demolition happened.

"When they came I was sleeping, they shook me awake and one policeman even threatened me," Ismail, surrounded by half-broken suitcases filled with clothes and utensils, told Reuters.

"What can I do if they have demolished my house? I will sleep out in the open."

I pity the child for experiencing such trauma. I mean, he worked for something so big, he helped India be recognized for the movie that was worth his time and talent, and now this is all happening to him?

What happened to the money he earned from it? Who is responsible for keeping his earnings?

In February, the housing authority of Maharashtra state, of which Mumbai is the capital, said they would give Ismail and fellow child star Rubina Ali new houses. But Ismail's mother, Shameem, said the family is now at the mercy of the rains.

"We also heard that the government had promised us houses, but what happened? We are still homeless," she said. "My son has brought glory to the country, shouldn't he get some credit?"

I hope that Azharuddin Ismail will get some help from the government if there was really a promise of extending assistance to him and his family. Otherwise, this was just part of a large scale publicity and lip service to Azharuddin Ismail's family.

Jang Ja-yeon of Boys over Flowers Committed Suicide?

Jang Ja-yeon is one of the mean girls cast of Boys over Flowers, one of the recent Koreanovelas shown on ABS CBN.

I just stumbled this news online when I searched for some information regarding the show because the TV station is heavily promoting it. I must say that I am more for the Taiwanese version but let' see if I will get to like this one too.



Going back to Jang Ja-yeon suicide incident, according to some online blogs and sources like Wikipedia, she had episodes of depression and has undergone medication and treatment prior to the suicide incident that happened last March 7, 2009.

According to this blog, the family did not want Jang to be subjected to autopsy as the angle of suicide was evident that time.

To support that claim, Wikipedia has this additional information about her suicide incident:

An alleged suicide note left by Jang describes how she was beaten and forced to entertain and have sex with several program directors, CEOs and media executives, causing considerable debate about relations in the entertainment industry, as well as a police probe into her management agency

If this is true then we can just imagine how she went through some tough, traumatic times. I am not saying that this is really happenning in the showbusiness but who are we to say that these allegations did not happened in the first place? May her soul rest in peace.

Photo credit: googleimages

Blogging Contests

Have you tried joining blogging contests?

I did before. It was fun, but I did not win. :) I'll have to see myself winning in a blog contest so I can feel what the winners felt then. :)

Seriously, if I have more time, I will join another blog contest again. Prizes have evolved from ad space and EC credits to Paypal money, free domains, books, cds, and more. Isn't that exciting enough?

To add to that, what I wanted more about blog contests are the benefits that you will get when you both became a sponsor and a participant. You get the share of some link juice from the rest of the bloggers and at the same time you get to visit and discover blogs with same interest. Now that really spells fun. :)

Now I am thinking of having my own blog dedicated to join blog contests. How about you? Would you do the same thing? Or will you incorporate blog contest posts in your blog instead?