That hippie show

I recently finished watching the whole series of That 70's Show. It took me a couple of months to go through every hilarious episode, all two hundred of it! When it was first shown in the Philippines several years back, I was instantly fascinated because I would spot some home decors and appliances that were similar or exactly the same as what we had from the 70's. We had the glass fruits, framed hanging painted tiles on the kitchen wall, that brown refrigerator, orange and green-colored ceramic jugs and even the garden set. Then when I got to know more about the characters, that's when I got hooked. Unfortunately, the local TV network airing the show did not complete the entire series so it took me until now to find out everything that happened in the show.

I'm an 80's/90's kid but if I were to choose, I would choose the 70's. Maybe that era wasn't so great in this country because of martial law, but generally speaking, the 70's was groovy! Life was simpler then; as long as you have a decent job, you would be able to provide for your family comfortably. Families spent more time together because they have breakfast and supper together and watch TV at the living room together. Since there were not too many things to do, the neighborhood kids hung out together and found creative ways to entertain themselves. Contrast all these with what we have now. Sure, everything is high-tech, convenient and available in an instant but somehow, the family values and quality of life have been sacrificed.

Now if only Kelso was indeed able to invent a time machine so we can visit the glorious days of the past! But since this is not so, I'll just content myself with visiting Nostalgia Manila so I can go back and reminisce my childhood days. :)

And the list goes on

The second ANC Leadership Forum is interesting on a very different level than the first. In this round, the guests were Former President Joseph Estrada, Sen. Loren Legarda, Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay and MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando. Sen. Panfilo Lacson was supposed to be there but he backed out again and this time he also announced that he was withdrawing his presidential bid for 2010, citing his lack of funds as his reason. However, many are speculating that he struck a deal with the government that he would back out from running for president in exchange for easing him out of the Dacer-Corbito murder case. I wouldn't be surprised if this is true because of the timing of his announcement -- Cesar Mancao, who is supposed to be the state witness for the trial just arrived in the country then. Anyhow, the leadership forum pushed through without Ping and the University of the Philippines School of Economics was jampacked with students and teachers alike wanting to witness the forum live. If you haven't seen it yet, you can do so here.

Listening to the guests, you would really see their different visions for the country.

The race is on!

I saw the ANC Leadership Forum being aired in ABS-CBN last night, which reminded me that I haven't blogged about it yet, which I should have done right after I watched it on ANC when it was first aired. Anyway, for those who didn't know about it, ANC (ABS-CBN News Channel), together with the Ateneo School of Government, hosted a leadership forum on May 11 for the aspiring presidential candidates of the 2010 Philippine elections. The guests were Senators Francis Escudero, Richard Gordon, and Mar Roxas; Pampanga Gov. Ed Panlilio; and Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro. Senator Panfilo Lacson confirmed his attendance but backed out before the event. They also invited Vice President Noli de Castro, and Senators Manuel Villar and Loren Legarda but the three probably didn't confirm. If you haven't seen it and you want to get an idea of what transpired, visit the following links:

• Countdown to 2010 - An ANC Leadership Forum part 1


• Countdown to 2010 - An ANC Leadership Forum part 2


• Countdown to 2010 - An ANC Leadership Forum part 3


• Countdown to 2010 - An ANC Leadership Forum part 4


• Countdown to 2010 - An ANC Leadership Forum part 5

Now for my opinions.

Burn!

After leading the pack for several weeks in the Amazing Race Asia 2, Marc & Rovilson finished with a very disappointing 3rd place at the very last leg. The Chong sisters, Pamela & Vanessa, finished at 2nd place and Adrian & Collin finished 1st place and went on to win the $100,000 cash prize. So much for my fearless forecast. Oh well, guess I'll just have to wait for the next season and hope that there are strong contenders for the Philippine team.

If you missed the season finale or wanna see the episode highlights, click here.

Racing to the No. 1 Spot

I've been religiously following The Amazing Race Asia so I'm excited to know who will emerge the victorious team when the finale airs on Thursday. During the early parts of the race, the strong contender was the tandem of Marc and Rovilson (Philippine team) but at this point, it's really anyone's ballgame.