Sinking in a vortex of oblivion..

Round and round I go and whatelse is there to say. A lot has change but everything still thesame. I don't get it either.

I miss my daily routine doing nothing but stare online and be cynical and sarcastic albeit in a nice way. Just imagine how I do it. Heh

So my life has been one big nothing and Im sinking. Luckily, I know how to swim. This is one crappy blog about nothing.

And the Blahg (still) goes on

About convicted U.S. Marine Daniel Smith... news is that he's in the hospital (either Asian Hospital, St. Lukes or Makati Med) for treament. Uhm, every one has the right to be treated if there's an ailment. Okay. Some folks are complaining. Geez!

Then there's the news about Slain US Peace corp volunteer Julia Campbell. She was killed in Ifugao while hiking alone. They say a wood carver man killed her while buying a refreshment in nearby store. She was possibly bludgeoned to death but she fought back. It's shame. I mean here is good person doing volunteer work in the country, helping poor people and children and Julia Campbell didn't deserved to be killed.

Related news: How did Julia die? , 18 pieces of evidence

Election time here in the country is just 3 weeks aways, as usual we're inundated with campaign crap and other shittiness and promises of everything and nothing. Ha!

And one last blogging bit...

Oh my. Looks like Scientists may have found a new earth like planet that is habitable by humans. Oh yeah, talk about 'Second Life' (maybe I can be Skyedagger- my second life ident), the planet is named 581 C ( sounds like hospital room. Heh) and here are some stats about the potentially new planet:

Five times heavier than Earth. Has a diameter about 1 1/2 times bigger than our planet. Star system is a mere 20.5 light years away, making Gliese 581 one of the 100 closest stars to Earth. Gravity is 1.6 times as strong as Earth's so a 150-pound person would feel like 240 pounds. Anyone sitting on the planet would get heavier quickly, and birthdays would add up fast since it orbits its star every 13 days. Read more.

Okay. I will end my blog here. Adios. And I wish I have a new computer. Anykind hearted people? Ack. Where's fairy godmother Oprah!? Heh.

Blogging off now.

Old lady punched by mugger, caught on video

Sheesh. Imagine attacking an 101 year old lady. How low and desperate can you be?! The old woman was punched three times, suffered fractured cheekbones and lost her $33 to the mugger. NYC police need to catch that scumbag and then have the old lady punch that asshole shithead! View story and video.

Putrid!

Damnit! I'm sleepy and I can't sleep!

WTF! My nostrils suffering the foul smelling odor wafting inside my room. It's making me crazy! Like I'm gagging here! I don't know where the bad odor is coming from but it smells like sewerage shit cologne!

Give decency to those who served

Hartford Courant editorial: Protecting military funerals (click to read in full)

People who lay their lives on the line or are killed while serving in the armed forces deserve dignified military burials; respect for such rituals is the least that is owed their grieving relatives and friends. But, sadly, even such basic rules of civil conduct are under siege.

Regardless of how one feels about God, gays or the war in Iraq, military services for the dead are inappropriate forums for protests. For those who refuse to acknowledge this basic tenet of decency, state Sen. Leonard Fasano, R-North Haven, has crafted legislation that would make it illegal to disrupt a military burial, funeral or memorial service.

Senate Bill 319, "An Act Concerning Disruption of a Military Funeral," is a good piece of legislation. It's clear and it's restrained.

A veteran or a soldier killed in wartime deserves the decency and respect of a dignified burial. Their survivors deserve whatever comforts such a service can provide.

Indeed it is good piece of legislation. Everybody has the right to protest and to be heard but please show some decency to the dead.

Oh but Jesus it's just documentary!

It's all theories.The Lost Tomb of Jesus looks like good informative t.v. special and that's all there is to it.

Jesus having son named Judah and Jesus being buried instead as opposed to what is written in bible. Oh please! It's documentary special. A show on t.v And as much as they people behind the show claims to have found the tomb of Jesus and that he had son named Judah-because they found writings on the tomb? C'mon. Jesus died, resurrected and ascended into heaven. That is how it was and will be. Saying otherwise will refute what's in the bible. It could also question faith in their religion. I don't necessary think that's the aim of the aim. Anyhow, I'm pretty sure religious scholars are skeptical about the tomb and everything else

Let the campaign begin, stop 'Pacman' from running

It's showtime. 'Tis the season to start campaining. Opposition wasted no time and toured Manila (GMA News)

Francis 'Chiz' Escudero gets my vote.

Election fever heating up the states and here in my county it's becoming raging bull of gimmicks, ads, attention grabbing posters and paid advertising of officials running for position to govern. Our national elections is just several months away (May 11) and we're voting for Senators and Congressmen and other local officials. I don't know if I'm gonna see candidates in their sorties and such, I hardly go out anyway. I don't think they will roam around and shake hands and kiss babies in a nice neighborhood. They always go to places where the masses are. However, I keep seeing t.v ads of candidates running mostly for Senators. Political ads proliferating the idiot box. Some are so corny. They, the candidates chose to air their few minutes of ads without much substance.....just stupid ass cornball music and crap.

The one from Ping Lacson was a bit alright. Something about H.O.P.E. I only saw once (earlier) I forgot what the campaign ad was all about. The rest was funny ha ha hah funny. I suspect I'll see more ads. 'Tis the season of election.

Gah. My mind ain't working right now. I must be sleepy. It's early morning.

So Manny Paquiao is really running for.... ah, shit. I forgot what he's running for. Congressman. I think. Or governor. I'm not sure now but whatever position it is.... STOP! whats wrong with that boxer?! Manny should just stick to boxing! No ifs no buts. I am pretty sure many of his politician friends convinced him to run for a seat as house representative. YIKES! of course there's nothing wrong with helping the people and the 'Pacman' has good heart and genuine desire to help his constituent but please, majority of Filipinos thinks he can contribute and help by just sticking it out with boxing.

Manny Paquiao should heed to the request of many. Leave politics and just get on with boxing and do your countrymen proud once more.

Freedom, Justice and theTruth

Maybe it's because I saw an earlier film about injustice to the 4 Irish men falsely accused of being IRA terrorist and languished in jail for 15 years (yes it only a film but it's a true to life account of locking innocent people in jail), but I do firmly believed and I have and I know and it is fact that there are really innocent suspects serving life imprisonment or even death penalty.

Lawyers and those advocating freedom of the innocent need to pursue the case. Keep digging, keep reading, keep going over and over and as many times as possible with all the evidence. You know there's bound to be inconsistencies. There might be loopholes. If one has to prove the innocence of wrongly accused convicted person, keep on going. Decades spent in prison for a crime an innocent person didn't commit should get justice

I didn't even kick the ball

What wacky dream I had yesterday. Imagine David Beckham as main character. Weirdness. Not that it's bad but.. just funny, I guess.

And so the dreamland state that I was in.. the soccer star was hiding (or not) here in Manila and trespassed inside our house because in the dream, he wanted to be left alone. We became friends or something -- 'cos we were holding fingers. Ah yes, not hands but fingers. It's a dream ya know! Neighbors kept looking at our house and eventually recognised him and then the dream shifted to somebody missing or injured and he was the suspect and I was hiding him. And then I woke up and that's that. End of weirdnesss dream.

And I was gonna blog bout election and politics. Ha.

When damage is a remedy

For all you smokers out there. Scientist (or Doctors) has discovered a damage spot in the brain that could somehow help prevent the craving for smoking. That this insula discovery, if it's damaged inside the brain, the urge to quit smoking prompts those smokers whose insula has been damaged to not feel anything like smoking. They lose the feeling of wanting to smoke. Confused?

According to this report

Damage to a silver dollar-sized spot deep in the brain seems to wipe out the urge to smoke, a surprising discovery that may shed important new light on addiction.

Clearly brain damage isn't a treatment option for people struggling to kick the habit.

But the finding, reported in Friday's edition of the journal Science, does point scientists toward new ways to develop anti-smoking aids by targeting this little-known brain region called the insula.

Smokers, if you really want to quit that nicotine habit, don't even wait to have part of your brain to be damaged or get sick.

Thirteen of the insula-damaged patients had quit smoking, 12 of them super-easily: They quit within a day of the brain injury, and reported neither smoking nor even feeling the urge since then.

Well, if there's a brain injury, wouldn't it be natural for that person whose got the injury to not smoke? I mean, are there really people (smokers at that) who still smokes even with brain injury? Or is that silly ignoramus question? Aye. Man, I brain my damage and I don't even smoke! Sheesh.

It is definitely good discovery to expound and worked on for making new ways to stop the dilemma of smoking and the smokers who can't seem to kick that puffing huffing nicotine drive into their lungs. Smoking is foul smelling killer addiction.

Doomed Clockers

All aboard the funnies and satire express....

Yubanet's Andy Borowitz piece about scientists moving the dooms day clock is freaking hilarious. Just read it it.

And this from Pittsburg Tribune

The scientists decided to move the minute hand forward during a high-level meeting near Sbarro at the mall food court while employees at the nearby It's About Time watch kiosk diagnosed the clock's problem.

Heh. Well, clock here says it's early morning. *yawns* I'm blogging off.

War and consequence

I don't even know why I'm blogging about it. I don't even care. But anyhow...

So President Bush made his Iraq speech earlier. He acknowledges failure in Iraq...

He described the situation in Iraq as "unacceptable" to the American people and to himself. "Our troops in Iraq have fought bravely. They have done everything we have asked them to do," he said. "Where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with me." (Washington Post)

Bush said he would like to send more troops --more than 20,000. Congress which now has Democrats in control doesn't like the idea and are opposed to it. They will block by means of bipartisan legislature (is that the right term?) and it's pretty obvious majority thinks sending more troops only worsens the situation and will only drag the U.S. further in the escalating civil war that Iraq seems to have turned into.

I've seen (from telly and internet news) a lot of polls that Americans don't like what's happening in Iraq and the sending of more military men. But what about the military itself? The soldiers, the Marines, Army...the whole troops. Perhaps I don't really read or watch t.v. that much and I have no idea but... are they willing to be deployed there? I remember reading something about this one soldier who refused to be deployed in Iraq. Is he in the majority, I wonder. Maybe.

Sending more troops will mean more casualties but it will mean also that they will be there to help Iraqis. Rebuilding that country is major herculean task.

If troops are there to help to train to rebuild to reconstruct then they should be supported. Boost the morale of soldier Don't cut funding...or something.

I don't make sense, I know. I'm just blogging my thoughts!

Iraq's success lies in getting helped from Americans. That's what's Bush wanted the people to understand. It's noble thing but at the expense of the troops ..well it doesn't seem be working anymore. American people basically tired of the Iraq war. That's how I see it..from an Asian perspective of course.

Apple iPhone unveiled

Talk of the tech industry right now, the new iPhone that was launch at the Mac Expo. As expected it illicited ooohhs and aahhhs from salivating consumers and the fanatic Apple/Mac/ iPod disciples. So much to enumerate why it looks promising but plenty of reasonswhy it's just like another iPod with cell phone capabilities. Dang 2megapix or gig? Yay!

Owning and having an iPhone (here, anyway) is just like showing status symbol. Just like owning a Mac and having an iPod is still a damn status symbol here!

The way I see it. Apple is first and foremost a computer company. They're not a cell phone one. They don't make phones. They make computers. They don't make mobile devices like Nokia or SE. Then again success of iPod has prompted Steve Jobs to procceed with launching the iPhone which is also now being called smartphone. It can do a lot of computer based stuff (which Nokie and SE and company already integrated to their mobile phones). The thing with iPhone and it's features..one probably has to have a Mac in order for the other features to work. Right. And then there's the price. Ugh. I'd rather have Mac than an iPhone (I'm wishful thinking here. Ha!) because like I said iPhone looks sleek and delicious and so fragile like.. the touchscreen- I have no keypad- type is cool. But.. I like having tactile buttons to touch instead of the screen. You know a lot of people use their phones with one hand especially while walking or on the move or something. The touch screen probably doesn't serve it's purpose. Brilliant interface though. The rest is alright.

I think Sony Ericsson and Nokia is still will lord it over the Cell phone market. But of course I could be wrong. I mean look at what happened with iPod.

Links via Apple and Gizmodo: Everything you need to know about iPhone

Jetson life once again

Computer Electonic Show and Mac Expo on going now in Las Vegas and San Fransico showcasing what life would be like with new electronics and technology living. If you want to know the latest digital life, that's where you need to be. I wonder what new products will emerge as the must haves for the year. Hmm...

Pink Barbie DVD players. Touch-screen HP computers. Software that turns your iPod into a karaoke machine.

Apple's highly anticipated iTV, a set-top box that wirelessly streams movies, television shows and music from the computer to the television. Read more or view the gadgets from Gizmodo

Ah yes, the products of digital lifestyle . I think I'll just go watch Jetsons (I'd rather be at the CES and Mac gathering..but me is poor and hlafways around the word!) now and see the future once more.

It's beginning to look a lot like May

And we're only in the first week of January. First Friday too, today. May is the national elections here and most news now seems to focused on who's running for whom and what postion and which party. I'm not sure exactywhen campaign period will start but this early, the potential hopefuls starting to make noise. It's alright I guess. People will have name recall of who the candidates are and what they can do to make this nation an even better progressive country. How to alleviate poverty should be main focus of campaign. But this early, I know, 'cheese' gets my vote. Hah!

Cellphone video controversy

And no it's not some porny phonecam vid!

That Saddam execution having been viewed on You Tube (and other video sites) was shot using cellphone and showing to the world a hanged lifeless body of his. Many broadcast network chose not to even air the video. But of course..if you don't see it on the telly, there's You Tube. Apparently an Iraqi official filmed the whole thing using cell phone and well, it's been leaked and shown to the web audience at large.

You know what, maybe I have ESP or something, when the news of execution broke, I was like I bet there will be cellphone shot. I'm so fricking right! The minute I saw footage (just the ones shown on t.v.). I was pretty sure because maybe I know it's the easiest thing to use.

Technology is supposed to be good. Innovative in ways that we consumers get to use but for useful purpose, say... in mostly emergency cases. But once we have tech tools in the palm of our hands we can do anything as we so pleases...like film something secretly. Eeek!

By the cold stone she sat down and wept

"I think about him all day, every day," she said. "I'm lucky, though, because I don't think a lot of people get to fall in love the way I did. I'm glad I had him, even if it wasn't for very long."-- Kira, 19

Washington Post article about young Marine's romance and the sad painful reality of love and war

On Aug. 30, as she sat restlessly in class at Radford University, she wrote a poem about the month Colin was to return to her.

"To miss rough hands, stern eyes so much, They knife the heart with thoughts . . . of sweet February."

On the other side of the world, Colin had volunteered for a midday mission in the town of Habbaniya. His Humvee hit a roadside bomb. The blast ignited the gas tank, then the ammunition. He died instantly. Read more

You gotta. It's long article. Tugs the heart. It might be sap for some but I guess even cynics get sappy once in while.

12 months of thoughtful spot

So it's the last day of the year. Here are some of the major blog post I did during the last 12 months of 2006.

Jan-- media bashing because erroneous report about miners trapped.
Feb-- Arroyo declaring national emergency, Ultra stampede, Leyte mudslide.
Mar- blogged about that very gory Hostel movie. Bloody hell !
Apr-June-- Four u.s marines charged and mostly some personal vague crap.
July- war erupted between Israel and Hezbollah..it went on and on and on....
Aug-- planet became pluto..less , terror plot uncovered at Heathrow, Mel Gibson arrested.
Sept-Dec-- mostly random babble.

First 4 months of 2006 was bliss. The rest was disappointing sad months and was spent worrying about things of personal nature. But still I got through the rest of '06 still feeling very blessed and thankful about everything. I hope 2007 will be a better one.

Dead and done

Saddam Hussein executed! He's pffft! No vids or photos released yet. But will there be one?

*edit... Iraqi t.v released video as he was about to be hanged. Photo of Saddam (via AP/Yahoo). I saw the new vid while watching cnn and there's several of them now showing in You Tube.. just search for it.

Gripe. I added labels with my previous post but when I click I thought it would show all post I made with that labels (i.e. all blog entries I made with words Daniel Smith) I added..but now it's a no show. Maybe I'm not understanding how it works. low tech mind I have. Whatever.

Tags are way better. Google should've added tags instead. Something similar to Flickr.

Daniel Smith back now at the U.S embassy

Fresh news. Lance cpl Daniel Smith was transferred from Makati city jail to the embassy just few minutes ago before midnight. Smith, the U.S. Marine convicted of rape. He's been detained at the Makati jail since last month. His stay there created problems between U.S. and Philippine officials. The rape complainant "Nicole" and her lawyer are opposed to it. And now lawyer is seething mad at this sudden transfer.

*edit.. According to this report Smith's lawyers, the U.S. Embassy and the Philippine departments of justice and foreign affairs have agreed that his detention violates the 1998 Visiting Forces Agreement, which governs the conduct of U.S. troops in the Philippines.