2007 World Figure Skating Championship

Mao Asada, Miki Ando, Yuna Kim

I was hoping I'd see this on cable TV live but dunno which channel to switch to... ESPN wasn't showing this. Anyway, managed to view the programs in youtube -- thank God! Thanks also to whoever uploaded the videos there... I'm really glad there's youtube.

The current world champion, Kimmie Meissner, tried to defend her title. Emily Hughes also performed for the US. So did Italy's Carolina Kostner. But I was rooting for the Japanese team esp. Mao Asada (16), Miki Ando (19), Yukari Nakano... then I came upon the only South Korean figure skater -- Yu Na Kim (16). She seems to be really good too. I was rooting for them. No USA and Russian contenders for me... Go Asia! hehehe...

I was able to view the results just now... at the official site:

1st Place: Miki Ando (Japan)
2nd Place: Mao Asada (Japan)
3rd Place: Yu Na Kim (South Korea)

Yes!!! The skaters I was rooting for got medals... hehehe...

Here's the official site: http://www.worlds2007.jp/

Philstar: RP most corrupt economy in Asia

Got the link from Unionbank's website. From being the 2nd most corrupt last year, our country is now THE MOST corrupt. This is so humiliating!!!


The Philippine Star 03/14/2007

The Philippines is perceived by foreign businessmen as Asia’s most corrupt economy, according to a survey that polled 1,476 expatriate business executives in 13 countries and territories across the region.

Singapore and Hong Kong were seen as the cleanest economies, while China, Indonesia and Vietnam posted improvements, the Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) said in a summary made available to Agence France Presse.

"The Philippines has the distinction of being perceived in the worst light this year," PERC said after polling expatriate business executives in January and February.

President Arroyo dismissed the survey, saying the perceptions and data were outdated.

duh... Trying to find excuses...

Perception of corruption in Thailand worsened, with the military junta now in power after last September’s coup seen as little better than the government it ousted.

In a grading system with zero as the best possible score and 10 the worst, the Philippines got 9.40, worsening sharply from its grade of 7.80 last year. Indonesia had been deemed Asia’s most corrupt country in 2006.

Look at the figures... from 7.80 to 9.40??? That's quite a big leap -- for the worst!

PERC, which provides advice to private firms and governments, said it had not noted a worsening in the actual situation in the Philippines despite its deteriorating score."It is bad and has been bad all along. People are just growing tired of the inaction and insincerity of leading officials when they promise to fight corruption," it said.

yeah... That's right! We're tired of all the inaction and insincerity of our government officials. It's election time once again and you can hear all those promises being flaunted to us in print, tv, and other types of ads.

Here's the link if you want to read the full article:
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/News200703140404.htm

Learn Korean

While checking for the latest posts in PMT, I came across a topic about where to learn Korean. FG or FutureGizmo (the forum admin) posted the helpful links posted below. Hehe... I'll be checking those links later... I wanna learn Korean so that I can understand those Korean Dramas.

Let's speak Korean
http://korea.net/kois/eng_vns_read.asp?movie_no=128
Multimedia instruction on basic Korean conversation by Korea.net

Learn Korean
http://www.learnkorean.com/
Structured lessons per level good for beginners of the korean language.

Learn Korean and Speak Korean
http://www.learn-korean.net/
A site for learning Korean online, includes tutorials and a student help forum.

KBS World Radio - Hangeul page
http://rki.kbs.co.kr/learn_korean/lessons/e_index.htm
Introduction of Korean alphabet Hangeul and basic phrases in 9 languages including English, German, French, Spanish, Arabic, Russian, Indonesian, Chinese and Japanese.

Introduction to Korean
http://langintro.com/kintro/
Introduction to Korean alphabet (Hangul) and grammar

Korean through English
http://www.mct.go.kr/hangeul/
An online version of the popular language curriculum produced by the Korean government

Korean studies at Sogang
http://korean.sogang.ac.kr/
Offers introductory, novice and intermediate online courses. All lessons include Hanguel text, Romanizations, and sound files. Requires free registration

Learn Korean lessons provided by Korea National Tourism Organization
http://english.tour2korea.com/02Culture/KoreanLanguage/learn_korean_language.asp?kosm=m2_9&konum=1
Free online lessons in Korean language for beginners and advanced learners. Prepare for your trip to South Korea with learning Korean.

Fasting

During the anticipated mass last Saturday, the priest's homily was focused on fasting for lent... a different kind of fasting:

1. Fasting from anger and sorrow
2. Fasting from judging others
3. Fasting from complaining
4. Fasting from discouragement
5. Fasting from resentment and bitterness
6. Fasting from spending too much money

Whew! I actually managed to remember what the priest talked about. hehehe... just goes to show I was struck by what he said.

Star Babies

http://www.people.com/people/gallery/0,,20013760_1,00.html

Just look at them... Gorgeous parents and adorable kids!!!

2007's Most Expensive Homes

2007's Most Expensive Homes from Forbes.com

$138 million*
Updown Court
Windlesham, Surrey

$135 million*
Hala Ranch
Aspen, Colo.

$125 million*
Maison de L'Amitie
Palm Beach, Fla.

$100 million*
Tranquility
Lake Tahoe, Nev.

$100 million
Waterfront Estate
Istanbul, Turkey

$99 million*
Bishops Avenue
Hampstead, London

$75 million*
Three Ponds
Bridgehampton, N.Y.

$75 million
The Portabello Estate
Corona del Mar, Calif.

$70 million*
The Pierre Penthouse
New York, N.Y.

$65 million*
Cap Ferrat
Cote d’Azur, France


Here's the link: http://www.forbes.com/2007/02/21/homes-expensive-world-forbeslife-cx_mw_0222mostexpensivehomes_slide1_2.html

10 Largest Shopping Malls in the World

Got this at Forbes.com. Here's the list of 10 largest shopping malls in the world based on the amount of "Gross Leasable Area"--the number of square feet the property has for revenue-generating activities like retail, dining and amusements. 8 out of 10 belong in Asia.

1. South China Mall
Location: Dongguan, China

2. Golden Resources Shopping Mall
Location: Beijing, China

3. SM Mall of Asia
Location: Pasay City, Philippines

4. West Edmonton Mall
Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

5. SM Megamall
Location: Mandaluyong City, Philippines

6. Berjaya Times Square
Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

7. Beijing Mall
Location: Beijing, China

8. Zhengjia Plaza
Location: Guangzhou, China

9. SM City North Edsa
Location: Quezon City, Philippines

10. King of Prussia Mall
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA


Out of the 8 in Asia, 4 belong to China and 3 to the Philippines. The difference between them is that all three in the Philippines are owned by SM.

Here's the link: http://www.forbes.com/2007/01/09/malls-worlds-largest-biz-cx_tvr_0109malls_slide.html?partner=links