AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL: Monique Weingard

Monique Weingard

I know this is a little late, but Monique Weingard was the latest model evicted from America's Next Top Model Cycle 16. Monique was eliminated for being the middle runner, not the best and not the worst. 

But despite being eliminated, I still think that she is the most beautiful girl in the competition, though she was always being outperformed by others. She was in the bottom 2 with Mikaela Schipani. As I was watching it, I was pretty sure that Mikaela will be eliminated. 

Now that Monique was eliminated, only seven were left: Brittani, Hannah, Kasia, Mikaela, Alexandria, Molly and Jacqueline. I was thinking that it is either Alexandria or Mikalea who's going home next.

TODAY IN HISTORY: Kurt Cobain Commits Suicide (1994)

 Kurt Cobain

Modern rock icon Kurt Cobain commits suicide on this day in 1994. His body was discovered inside his home in Seattle, Washington, three days later by Gary Smith, an electrician, who was installing a security system in the suburban house. Despite indications that Cobain, the lead singer of Nirvana, killed himself, several skeptics questioned the circumstances of his death and pinned responsibility on his wife, Courtney Love.

 Kurt & Courtney

At least two books, including one penned by Love's estranged father, and a nationally released documentary, Kurt & Courtney, openly expressed doubt that Cobain killed himself and all but accused Love of having her husband killed. Her volatile reputation and healthy list of enemies helped to circulate the rumors. However, police have concluded that Cobain's death was the result of suicide.
Cobain's downward spiral began taking shape in Italy the previous month. He went into a coma and nearly died after mixing champagne and the drug Rohypnol. The public was led to believe that the coma was induced by an accidental heroin overdose, since Cobain had a well-known problem with the drug.

 Courtney Love

Back at home in Seattle, the police were called to Cobain and Love's home when he again threatened to kill himself. Although Cobain stated in a 1991 interview that he didn't believe in guns, the officers confiscated four from his possession. As his wife and friends watched him spin out of control, they attempted to intervene. Cobain mostly ignored their concerns but reluctantly checked into a rehabilitation clinic in Los Angeles at the end of March.
On March 30, Cobain walked away from the clinic without informing his family or friends. For the next few days, Love could not locate him and decided to hire a private detective on April 3. The detective made contact with Cobain the following day in Seattle, but Cobain refused to return to Los Angeles.
In the meantime, Cobain had convinced a friend to buy him a gun, claiming he needed it for protection. On April 5, Cobain returned home. He had ingested enough Valium and heroin to reach near-fatal levels. In the apartment above the garage was Cobain's sloppily written suicide note, quoting Neil Young's lyric that it is "better to burn out than to fade away."

I'M BACK

MGA NAGBABAGANG BULAKLAK

TV5 next dramaserye offering is Mga Nagababagang Bulaklak. TV5 is making quality drama series, just like ABS-CBN 2. After Babaeng Hampaslupa, this show will really move and will bring tears it's viewer. It is being topbilled by Ruffa Gutierrez, Phillip Salvador, Richard Gomez, Sheryl Cruz, Valerie Concepcion, Carla Humphries, James Blanco, Jay Aquitania, Victor Basa, Allan Paule, Jean Saburit, Mel Martinez, Luningning, Milagring, Mariposa, Arci Munoz and Ritz Asul. It is directed by Jon Red and premieres on March 21 right after “Babaeng Hampaslupa.

 Mga Nagbabagang Bulaklak

Female Cast: Arci Munoz, Ritz Asul, Ruffa Gutierrez, Valerie Concepcion, Carla Humpries

Scene form the series

MOVIE PLAYBACK: BASIC INSTINCT

I love mystery/thriller movies. It always make my mind work in thinking who could be... and Basic Instinct is one hell of a movie (for me at least). This erotic thriller film made controversies during it's release and received mixed reviews.

 Basic Instinct 

Starring: Michael Douglas, Sharon Stone

When a wealthy former rock star, Johnny Boz (Bill Cable), is brutally stabbed to death with an ice pick during sexual intercourse, homicide detective Nick Curran (Michael Douglas) is sent to investigate. The only suspect is Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone), a crime novelist who was the last person to be seen with Boz on the night he died. Nick and his partner, Gus Moran (George Dzunza), visit her Pacific Heights mansion; but they find only Catherine's lesbian lover, Roxy (Leilanie Sareille), who sends them to Catherine's Stinson Beach house, where they find her sitting in a deckchair by the ocean. When they ask about her relationship with Boz, she shows little remorse at hearing he is dead. Nick and Gus, along with their superiors, discover that Catherine has written a novel about a former rock star who was killed in the same way as Boz. During questioning at police headquarters, Catherine engages in provocative behavior, refusing to extinguish her cigarette and uncrossing her legs under her short skirt, revealing she isn't wearing underwear.

 Sharon Stone during police interview

Because he accidentally shot a pair of tourists in an earlier case (while high on cocaine), Nick attends counseling sessions with police psychologist Dr. Beth Garner (Jeanne Tripplehorn), with whom he has had an affair. After the interrogation, Nick goes to a bar with co-workers and is taunted by Lt. Marty Nilsen (Daniel von Barghen), an internal affairs investigator bent on making life difficult for Nick. When Beth Garner arrives, Nick leaves with her and at her apartment they engage in rough sex. Nick learns that Catherine's parents were killed when she was an adolescent, leaving her a fortune, that when she was majoring in psychology, her counselor at college was also murdered with an ice pick, and that Catherine's fiancé, a boxer, was killed in the ring. He also discovers that Catherine makes a habit of befriending murderers, including a woman who stabbed her husband and children for no apparent reason.
During a visit to her house, Catherine taunts Nick with information that should be confidential. As police psychologist, Beth is the only person with access to that information. When Nick confronts Beth, she admits that she handed his file to Nilsen, who threatened to discharge Nick if he couldn't evaluate Nick directly. An enraged Nick storms into Nilsen's office, assaults him, and accuses him of having sold Nick's file to Catherine. Nilsen then suspends Nick, who goes home, spending the evening drinking. Beth visits him, but after a heated argument, he throws her out. Later that night, Nilsen is found in his car, dead from a single gunshot to the head. Because of their recent altercation, Nick is the prime suspect.
A torrid affair between Nick and Catherine begins with the air of a cat-and-mouse game. Catherine explains that she will base her next novel's character - a cop falling for the wrong woman only to be killed by her - on Nick, while at the same time he declares his love for her and his unchanged intention to nail her for Boz's murder. A jealous Roxy tries to run Nick over with Catherine's car, but after a car chase she is killed in a crash. Her death reveals that she too had a murderous past. After Roxy's death, Catherine seems genuinely shocked, which makes Nick doubt her guilt.

 Jeanne Tripplehorn as Dr. Beth Garner

Catherine later reveals that a previous lesbian encounter at college went amiss when the girl became obsessed with her. Nick identifies the girl as Beth Garner who acknowledges the encounter, but claims it was Catherine that became obsessed. When he visits Catherine, she explains that she has finished her book, and coldly ends the affair. Upset, Nick meets Gus, who has arranged to meet with Catherine's college roommate at a hotel. As the suspended Nick waits in the car, Gus enters the hotel and is stabbed in the elevator by a hooded figure, in the way described in Catherine's new book. Nick figures out there is trouble brewing and runs into the building, but he arrives too late to save Gus from bleeding to death. Hearing the floor creak, Nick grabs Gus's gun and turns to find Beth standing in the hallway, explaining she received a message to meet Gus there. However, Nick suspects that she murdered Gus, and as Beth moves her hand in her pocket, he shoots her. With her final breath, Beth tells Nick that she loved him. A dejected Nick checks her pocket, only to find her keys. The police arrive, and in a staircase discover a blond wig, a SFPD raincoat, and an ice pick, the weapon used to murder Gus, concluding that Beth ditched the items when she heard Nick coming up. A search of Beth's apartment turns up the evidence needed to brand her as the killer of Boz, Gus, Nilsen, and presumably her own husband - the matching revolver, Catherine's novels, and photos chronicling the writer's life.
Nick returns to his apartment, where he is met by Catherine. She explains her reluctance to commit to him, but then the two make love. Afterward, the conversation turns toward their possible future as a couple. While talking, Nick turns his back on Catherine as she slowly reaches for something underneath the bed. She stops when Nick senses her stillness; he looks around with distrust in his eyes, and she throws her arms around him and the two resume making love as the camera slowly pans down to show what she was reaching for under the bed: an ice pick.

MOVIE PLAYBACK: JUMANJI

Jumanji is a 1995 American fantasy-comedy film about a supernatural board game that makes wild animals and other jungle hazards materialize upon each player's move. It was directed by Joe Johnston and is based on Chris Van Alburg's popular 1981 picture book of the same name.

 In 1869, two boys bury a chest near Brantford, New Hampshire. When one boy asks what will happen if someone unearths it, the other replies "May God have mercy on his soul." The sound of tribal drums is heard as the boys ride away.

A century later, in 1969, 12-year-old Alan Parrish (Hann-Byrd) flees on his bicycle from a gang of bullies, then runs into the shoe factory owned by his father, Sam (Hyde), where he meets his friend Carl Bentley (Grier), one of Sam's employees. When Alan accidentally damages a factory machine by clogging it up with a shoe that Carl designed, Carl takes the blame and loses his job. Outside the factory, after the bullies beat him up and steal his bike, Alan follows the sound of tribal drumbeats into a construction site and finds the buried chest, which contains a board game called "Jumanji".

Alan takes the game home and has an argument with Sam, who insists on sending him to boarding school. Alan prepares to run away from home, but his friend Sarah Whittle, who is the lead bully's girlfriend, arrives with Alan's bicycle. Alan and Sarah begin a game of Jumanji, which behaves strangely: When a player rolls the dice, the player's piece moves itself and a message appears on the board. When Alan makes his first move, a vortex sucks him into the board, trapping him in an unseen jungle. He will be freed when a player rolls a five or an eight, but Sarah abandons the game after being attacked by African bats.

Twenty-six years later, in 1995, Judy and Peter Shepherd (Dunst and Pierce) move into the Parrish house with their aunt Nora (Neuwirth) after the deaths of their parents in a car accident. They hear Jumanji's drumbeats and find the board game in the attic. When they begin playing, they are attacked by giant mosquitoes and crazed monkeys. The instructions say things will return to normal once the game is done, so they continue. Peter rolls a five, releasing both a lion and Alan (Williams), who is now an adult. Alan locks the lion in a bedroom, then goes to the shoe factory, which is now closed down. On the way, he meets Carl, who works unhappily as a police officer, and discovers that the town's economy has been devastated by the factory's closure. In the factory, a stranger tells Alan that Sam abandoned the business to search for him until his death.

When rolling the dice has no effect on the board, Alan realizes they are continuing the game he and Sarah started in 1969. The next move is Sarah's. They find Sarah (Hunt) at home, a reclusive outcast traumatized by the game and its aftermath. Alan tricks her into rejoining the game, and the following moves release man-eating vines, a hunter named Van Pelt (Hyde), a stampede of rhinos, elephants and zebras, and a pelican that steals the board. Increasingly relentless havoc ensues throughout the town. Among other things, Peter starts turning into a monkey after trying to cheat; Peter, Sarah and Judy battle Van Pelt in a local discount store; a monsoon floods the house; and an earthquake splits it in two. Finally, Alan wins the game just as Van Pelt is about to kill him. Van Pelt and the other jungle elements are sucked back into the board.

With the game over, Alan and Sarah find themselves as children in 1969 again, but they both remember the game. Alan admits his guilt for destroying Carl's shoe, Carl gets his job back, and Sam tells Alan he doesn't have to go to boarding school. Alan and Sarah then throw the Jumanji board into a river.

Twenty-six years later, Alan's and Sarah's knowledge of their experiences during the game has changed the future for the better: Alan and Sarah are married and expecting a child, Alan's parents are still alive, Alan has taken over the shoe business, and Carl still works there. When Judy, Peter, and their parents visit the Parrishes at a Christmas party, Alan and Sarah offer Judy and Peter's father a job in the shoe company.

Sometime later, two French-speaking girls hear drumbeats as they walk along a beach, where the Jumanji board is half buried in the sand.

NASAAN KA ELIZA Full Trailer

Starring: Melissa Ricks, Albert Martinez, Agot Isidro, Vina Morales, Mickey Ferriols, Christopher Roxas, Eric Fructuoso, Desiree del Valle, Joem Bascon

Elisa,  a beautiful and rich teenager and the eldest daughter of Mariano and Dana Altamira. One night, after Mariano's party, Elisa insisted her father to go out with her younger sister, Cristine and her cousins, Santi and Eduardo. They go to a local club where there is a party being held there. The three, except Elisa soon get drunk. When Dana and Vivian come to fetch them, they see that they are drunk and find out that Elisa is now missing. The investigators, Cristobal and Giselle investigate and they find a list of names of people who might have kidnapped Elisa, including her family members (aunts, uncles, cousins), her friends and classmates and went to the places where Elisa used to go to. Will they find where Elisa is? Who is the one who kidnapped Elisa? Will the mystery behind the disappearance of Elisa be revealed?

MOVIE PLAYBACK: WILD THINGS

Wild Things is a 1998 erotic film starring Matt Dillon, Neve Campbell, Kevin Bacon, Denise Richards and Bill Murray. It was directed by John McNoughton. In some countries the film was released as Sex Crimes.

Sam Lombardo (Dillon) is a happy, sexually promiscuous high school guidance counselor in Blue Bay, Florida. That is, until the wealthy and popular Kelly Van Ryan (Richards) accuses him of raping her one day after she had washed his truck. When he gets back to work the next day word gets around school of the rumors and students throw a crudely drawn picture of Lombardo raping a young girl anally and pulling on her pigtails while doing so. Due to the Van Ryans' high social status and connections, Lombardo's career and life take a heavy toll. Lombardo hires unorthodox lawyer Kenneth Bowden (Murray), but is later incarcerated when a second student, unpopular, trailer trash Suzie Toller (Campbell), also accuses him of rape, with several factors matching Kelly's description of Lombardo's assault.
Lombardo is put on trial, where Bowden badgers Suzie, who admits that she and Kelly had made the whole thing up to get revenge on Lombardo. The Van Ryans are humiliated by the scandal, and Lombardo and Bowden negotiate a hefty settlement: 8.5 million dollars. Lombardo leaves town to retire after this, and encounters Kelly and Suzie at his hotel. It turns out that the three of them had been working together the entire time, and planned to split the money. To celebrate the money they have a threesome.
However, police Detective Ray Duquette (Bacon) becomes suspicious and begins investigating further. Suzie becomes increasingly nervous, and Lombardo and Kelly begin to worry that she will undermine the plan. Suzie and Kelly fight in the Van Ryan pool, where Kelly nearly drowns Suzie before the two make love. But then Lombardo and Kelly take Suzie down to the ocean, where Lombardo appears to murder Suzie with a wine bottle. Her blood and teeth are later found by the ocean by Duquette, who realizes that Lombardo must have killed Suzie, and goes to Kelly's to protect her. But when he arrives, she appears to attack him, shooting him in the arm, leaving him no choice but to kill her in self-defense. No charges are filed against Duquette, but he is discharged from the police force as a consequence of Kelly's death.
Later, while Lombardo is staying at a tropical resort, he finds Duquette in his shower. It turns out that the two of them had been working together the entire time. Although Lombardo is not pleased that Duquette killed Kelly insteading of framing her as originally planned, Duquette insists that it leaves fewer loose ends. The two drink a toast to "no loose ends", and agree to go fishing on Lombardo's sailboat the following day.
While on the boat far out to sea, Lombardo knocks Duquette overboard, but he soon climbs back aboard and attacks Lombardo. However, he is shot in the leg with a spear. The shooter is Suzie, who is still alive and has altered her appearance, as she had been hiding aboard the boat. When Duquette begs Lombardo to save him, Lombardo responds that Duquette should not have killed Kelly. Suzie fatally shoots and kills Duquette for killing Kelly and her friend, Davie, years before.
Suzie then poisons Lombardo, enabling her to take all the money.
It is revealed, through a series of flashbacks shown in the end credits, that Suzie had planned the whole thing in order to get all the money and not just a third (as well as the aforementioned revenge on Duquette) and that she has a very high IQ. As for Kelly's death, she had not attacked Duquette. Duquette had shot her twice in the chest and she died immediately, and then shot himself in the arm, so as to make it look like Kelly had shot him, and that he had to return fire in self defense.
In the final scene, Bowden meets Suzie at the tropical resort, and gives her most of the money (minus his "usual fee"). As she departs, he calls after her to "be good".

TODAY IN HISTORY: Sheena Easton Made Music History (1985)

The controversial Prince-penned song "Sugar Walls" reaches #9 on Billboard magazine's R&B Singles chart on March 2, 1985, and makes Sheena Easton the first and still only recording artist to score top-10 singles on all five major Billboard singles charts: Pop, Country, Dance, Adult Contemporary and R&B.

To be fair, this same feat might have been achieved by Elvis Presley had the Dance chart existed during his heyday. But that is not to take anything away from Easton, who in her journey from the sweet and innocent "Morning Train (9 to 5)" to the salacious "Sugar Walls" accomplished a degree of crossover success that even such notorious musical shape-shifters as Madonna, Cher and Olivia Newton-John never matched. And it is also fair to point out Elvis Presley never matched Sheena Easton's additional feat of squeezing in a Grammy for Best Mexican-American Performance (for 1985's "Me Gustas Tal Como Eres"). For the record, the hits that helped Sheena Easton achieve her five-way Billboard record were, in order of release: the aforementioned 1981 Pop and Adult Contemporary hit "Morning Train (9 to 5)"; the 1983 Dance hit "Telefone (Long Distance Love Affair)"; the 1983 Country hit "We've Got Tonight" (a duet with Kenny Rogers); and the infamous 1985 R&B hit "Sugar Walls."
"Sugar Walls" also appeared on a very different chart in 1985: The so-called "Filthy 15" chart of the most objectionably dirty popular songs in existence, as chosen by Tipper Gore and her Parents Music Resource Council. The PMRC found the song's unsubtle metaphors objectionable enough to give "Sugar Walls" the #2 spot on the Filthy 15, second only to Prince's even less subtle "Darling Nikki." In the eyes of the diverse fellow-musicians who heaped their scorn upon the PMRC (e.g., Frank Zappa, Dee Snider, Ice-T, Metallica, Sonic Youth), it is quite possible that this accomplishment earned Sheena Easton even more musical street cred than the chart record she set on this day in 1985.

Angeline Quinto Wins Star Power

Angeline Quinto wins Star Power Sharon's Next Female Pop Superstar. Angeline's win is not an easy journey. Krissel, Monica, K-La and Akiko gave her tough competition. But Angeline can not do anything wrong and make her way to the final two with Krissel an eventually won over her. Angeline was a competition of Sarah Geronimo in Star for a Night and she was also a contestant in MTB's Teen Popstar and also won. But this win will surely give her an opportunity to show people that she will be an asset to Philippine's Music Industry. I will be waiting for her to have a duet with Sarah Geronimo and Regine Velasquez. Come to think of it, she look like Regine and sound like her too!

TODAY IN HISTORY: The Discovery Of King Tut's Tomb (1923) - Days That Shook The World

On this day in 1923, in Thebes, Egypt, English archaeologist Howard Carter enters the sealed burial chamber of the ancient Egyptian ruler King Tutankhamen.

 Howard Carter

Because the ancient Egyptians saw their pharaohs as gods, they carefully preserved their bodies after death, burying them in elaborate tombs containing rich treasures to accompany the rulers into the afterlife. In the 19th century, archeologists from all over the world flocked to Egypt, where they uncovered a number of these tombs. Many had long ago been broken into by robbers and stripped of their riches.
When Carter arrived in Egypt in 1891, he became convinced there was at least one undiscovered tomb--that of the little known Tutankhamen, or King Tut, who lived around 1400 B.C. and died when he was still a teenager. Backed by a rich Brit, Lord Carnarvon, Carter searched for five years without success. In early 1922, Lord Carnarvon wanted to call off the search, but Carter convinced him to hold on one more year.
In November 1922, the wait paid off, when Carter's team found steps hidden in the debris near the entrance of another tomb. The steps led to an ancient sealed doorway bearing the name Tutankhamen. When Carter and Lord Carnarvon entered the tomb's interior chambers on November 26, they were thrilled to find it virtually intact, with its treasures untouched after more than 3,000 years. The men began exploring the four rooms of the tomb, and on February 16, 1923, under the watchful eyes of a number of important officials, Carter opened the door to the last chamber.

 Inside lay a sarcophagus with three coffins nested inside one another. The last coffin, made of solid gold, contained the mummified body of King Tut. Among the riches found in the tomb--golden shrines, jewelry, statues, a chariot, weapons, clothing--the perfectly preserved mummy was the most valuable, as it was the first one ever to be discovered. Despite rumors that a curse would befall anyone who disturbed the tomb, its treasures were carefully catalogued, removed and included in a famous traveling exhibition called the "Treasures of Tutankhamen." The exhibition's permanent home is the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. 

REMEMBER ANN?

Ann Ward

Remember Ann? She is the winner of America's Next Top Model Cycle 15 (and my favorite of all the contestants since cycle 1). The picture shown above is her picture in Vogue website, vogue.it. She really is so high fashion and her look is just exceptional. She is the first model who got best photo for 5 straight weeks. Though she did not won any challenge, her photo shoot are just magnifico.

TODAY IN HISTORY: St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1929)

Four men dressed as police officers enter gangster Bugs Moran's headquarters on North Clark Street in Chicago, line seven of Moran's henchmen against a wall, and shoot them to death. The St. Valentine's Day Massacre, as it is now called, was the culmination of a gang war between arch rivals Al Capone and Bugs Moran.

                                                                      Bugs Moran                                        
George "Bugs" Moran was a career criminal who ran the North Side gang in Chicago during the bootlegging era of the 1920s. He fought bitterly with "Scarface" Al Capone for control of smuggling and trafficking operations in the Windy City. Throughout the 1920s, both survived several attempted murders. On one notorious occasion, Moran and his associates drove six cars past a hotel in Cicero, Illionis, where Capone and his associates were having lunch and showered the building with more than 1,000 bullets.

 Al Capone

A $50,000 bounty on Capone's head was the final straw for the gangster. He ordered that Moran's gang be destroyed. On February 14, a delivery of bootleg whiskey was expected at Moran's headquarters. But Moran was late and happened to see police officers entering his establishment. Moran waited outside, thinking that his gunmen inside were being arrested in a raid. However, the disguised assassins were actually killing the seven men inside.
The murdered men included Moran's best killers, Frank and Pete Gusenberg. Reportedly Frank was still alive when real officers appeared on the scene. When asked who had shot him, the mortally wounded Gusenberg kept his code of silence, responding, "No one, nobody shot me."
The St. Valentine's Day Massacre actually proved to be the last confrontation for both Capone and Moran. Capone was jailed in 1931 and Moran lost so many important men that he could no longer control his territory. On the seventh anniversary of the massacre, Jack McGurn, one of the Valentine's Day hit men, was killed him in a crowded bowling alley with a burst of machine-gun fire.
McGurn's killer remains unidentified, but was likely Moran, though he was never charged with the murder. Moran was relegated to small-time robberies until he was sent to jail in 1946. He died in Leavenworth Federal Prison in 1957 of lung cancer.

F**K YOU - Cee Lo Green

I Just wanted to share one of my current favorite songs: F**k You by Cee Lo Green. I first heard this song when Gwyneth Paltrow was a substitute in Glee. But their version was the clean version titled Forget You. This song was even nominated for Grammy: Song of the Year and record of the Year, but lost to Lady Antebellum's Need You Now which grav both awards.

2011 GRAMMY WINNER AND NOMINEES

53rd Grammy Award was held last night at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Country band Lady Antebellum 
emerged as the biggest winner of the night with their album "Need You Now" and single of the same title.
Here are the complete list of nomineed for major category and who won each category:`

Record of the Year:
* Need You Now, Lady Antebellum
Nothin' On You, B.o.B. feat. Bruno Mars
Love The Way You Lie, Eminem feat. Rihanna
F*** You, Cee Lo Green
Empire State of Mind, Jay-Z and Alicia Keyes

Album of the Year:
* The Suburbs, Arcade Fire
Recovery, Eminem
Need You Now, Lady Antebellum
The Fame Monster, Lady Gaga
Teenage Dream, Katy Perry

Song of the Year:
* Need You Now, Lady Antebellum
Beg, Steal or Borrow, Ray LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs
F*** You, Cee-Lo Green
The House That Built Me, Miranda Lambert
Love The Way You Lie, Eminem, feat. Rihanna
 
Best New Artist:
* Esperanza Spalding
Justin Bieber
Drake
Florence and The Machine
Mumford & Sons

Best Pop Vocal Album
* The Fame Monster, Lady Gaga
My World 2.0, Justin Bieber
I Dreamed a Dream, Susan Boyle
Battle Studies, John Mayer
Teenage Dream, Katy Perry

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
* Lady Gaga, Bad Romance
Sara Bareilles, King of Anything
| Beyoncé, Halo (Live)
Norah Jones, Chasing Pirates
Katy Perry, Teenage Dream

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
* Bruno Mars, Just the Way You Are
Michael Bublé, Haven't Met You Yet
Michael Jackson, This Is It
Adam Lambert, Whataya Want From Me
John Mayer, Half of My Heart

Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals:
* Hey, Soul Sister (Live), Train
Don't Stop Believin' (Regionals Version), Glee Cast
Misery, Maroon 5
The Only Exception, Paramore
Babyfather, Sade

Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals:
* Imagine, Herbie Hancock, Pink, India.Arie, Seal, Konono No. 1, Jeff Beck & Oumou Sangare
Airplanes II, B.o.B, Eminem & Hayley Williams
If It Wasn't For Bad, Elton John & Leon Russell
Telephone, Lady Gaga & Beyoncé
California Gurls, Katy Perry & Snoop Dogg

Best Dance Recording:
* Only Girl (In The World), Rihanna
Rocket, Goldfrapp
In For The Kill, La Roux
Dance In The Dark, Lady Gaga
Dancing On My Own, Robyn

Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals:
* Tighten Up, The Black Keys
Ready To Start, Arcade Fire
I Put A Spell On You, Jeff Beck & Joss Stone
Radioactive, Kings Of Leon
Resistance, Muse

Best Hard Rock Performance:
* New Fang, Them Crooked Vultures
A Looking In View, Alice In Chains
Let Me Hear You Scream, Ozzy Osbourne
Black Rain, Soundgarden
Between The Lines, Stone Temple Pilots

Best Rock Song:
* Angry World, Neil Young
Little Lion Man, (Mumford & Sons
Radioactive, Kings Of Leon
Resistance, Muse
Tighten Up, The Black Keys

Best Rock Album
* The Resistance, Muse
Emotion & Commotion, Jeff Beck
Backspacer, Pearl Jam
Mojo, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Le Noise, Neil Young

Best Alternative Music Album
* Brothers, The Black Keys
The Suburbs, Arcade Fire
Infinite Arms, Band Of Horses
Broken Bells, Broken Bells
Contra, Vampire Weekend

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration:
* Wake Up! Everybody, John Legend, The Roots, Melanie Fiona & Commo
Nothin' On You, B.o.B Featuring Bruno Mars
Deuces, Chris Brown, Tyga & Kevin McCall
Love The Way You Lie, Eminem & Rihanna
Empire State Of Mind, Jay-Z & Alicia Keys n

Best Rap Song:
* Empire State Of Mind, Jay-Z & Alicia Keys
Love The Way You Lie, Eminem & Rihanna
Not Afraid, Eminem
Nothin' On You, B.o.B feat. Bruno Mars
On To The Next One, Jay-Z & Swizz Beatz

Best Rap Album:
* Recovery, Eminem
The Adventures Of Bobby Ray, B.o.B
Thank Me Later, Drake
The Blueprint 3, Jay-Z
How I Got Over, The Roots

Best Country Collaboration With Vocals:
* As She's Walking Away, Zac Brown Band & Alan Jackson
Bad Angel, Dierks Bentley, Miranda Lambert & Jamey Johnson
Pride (In The Name Of Love), Dierks Bentley, Del McCoury & The Punch Brothers
Hillbilly Bone, Blake Shelton & Trace Adkins
I Run To You, Marty Stuart & Connie Smith

Best Country Song:
* Need You Now, Lady Antebellum
The Breath You Take, George Strait
Free, Zac Brown Band
The House That Built Me, Miranda Lambert
I'd Love To Be Your Last, Gretchen Wilson
If I Die Young, The Band Perry

Best Country Album:
* Need You Now, Lady Antebellum
Up On The Ridge, Dierks Bentley
You Get What You Give, Zac Brown Band
The Guitar Song, Jamey Johnson
Revolution, Miranda Lambert

MY TOP 5 VALENTINES SONG

5. But I Do Love You - LeAnn Rimes

  Love everything about the way you're loving me
                     The way you lay your head upon my shoulder when you sleep
                     And I love to kiss you in the rain
                     I love everything you do, oh I do

4. Terrified - Katherine McPhee 

                                             You by the light 
                                             is the greatest find
                                            In a world full of wrong
                                            You're the thing that's right
                                           Finally made it through
                                           the lonely to the other side 

3. Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now - Starship

                                          And we can build this dream together
                                         Standing strong forever
                                         Nothing's gonna stop us now
                                        And if this world runs out of lovers
                                        We'll still have each other
                                        Nothing's gonna stop us
                                        Nothing's gonna stop us now

2. Always - Atlantic Starr

                                         Come with me my sweet, let's go make a family.
                                         They will bring us joy, for always.
                                         Oh boy I love you so, I can't find enough ways to let you know,
                                         But you can be sure I'm yours, for always.
 

 1. I Will Take You Forever - Christopher Cross

                                          That I will take you forever

                                          and there will never be anyone else in my heart but you.
                                         And I will take you forever
                                         and there will never be anyone else but you
                                         anyone else but you.
                                         Now my touch belongs to you and I will always be your best friend
                                         now my secrets are safe with you and the magic will never end.
                                        Now you are the one
                                       and heaven will only know
                                       what only our eyes can say

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

MOVIES TO WATCH FOR 2011: The Green Lantern

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively and Peter Sarsgaard
Director: Martin Campbell
Release Date: June 2011

In a universe as vast as it is mysterious, a small but powerful force has existed for millenniums. Protectors of peace and justice, they are called the Green Lantern Corps. A brotherhood of warriors formed by the different races from entire universe sworn to keep intergalactic order, each Green Lantern wears a ring that grants him superpowers. But when a new enemy called Parallax threatens to destroy the balance of power in the Universe, their fate and the fate of Earth lie in the hands of their newest recruit, the first human ever selected for the Corps: Hal Jordan.
Hal is a gifted and cocky test pilot, but the Green Lanterns have little respect for humans, who have never harnessed the infinite powers of the ring before. But Hal is clearly the missing piece to the puzzle, and along with his determination and willpower, he has one thing no member of the Corps has ever had: humanity. With the encouragement of fellow pilot and childhood sweetheart Carol Ferris (Blake Lively), if Hal can quickly master his new powers and find the courage to overcome his fears, he may prove to be not only the key to defeating Parallax he will become the greatest Green Lantern of all.

MOVIES TO WATCH FOR 2011: Pirates Of The Carribean On Stranger Tides

Starring: Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Ian McShane and Geoffrey Rush 
Director: Rob Marshall
Release Date: May 2011

Captain Jack Sparrow (Depp) crosses paths with a woman from his past (Cruz), and he's not sure if it's love -- or if she's a ruthless con artist who's using him to find the fabled Fountain of Youth. When she forces him aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge, the ship of the formidable pirate Blackbeard (McShane), Jack finds himself on an unexpected adventure in which he doesn't know who to fear more: Blackbeard or the woman from his past.

TOP 10 SONGS OF THE WEEK

U.S. BILLBOARD

1. Black And Yellow - Wiz Khalifa
2. Grenade - Bruno Mars
3. Fireworks - Katy Perry
4. F**king Perfect - P!nk
5. I Need A Doctor - Rd. Dre featuring Eminem and Skylar Grey
6. Tonight (I'm Loving You) - Enrique Iglesias
7. Rocketeer - Far*East Movement featuring Ryan Tedder
8. What's My Name - Rihanna featuring Drake
9. Hey Baby (Drop It To The Floor) - Pitbull featuring T-Pain
10. Hold It Against Me - Britney Spears

MTV ASIA

1. Back To December - Taylor Swift
2. Grenade - Bruno Mars
3. Fireworks - Katy Perry
4. We R Who We R - Ke$sha
5. Animal - Neon Trees
6. Pray - Justin Bieber
7. Rocketeer - Far*East Movement featuring Ryan Tedder
8. Whip My Hair - Willow
9. Hurricane - 30 Seconds To Mars
10. F**king Perfect - P!nk

MYX HITCHART

1. Walang Natira - Gloc 9 featuring Sheng Belmonte
2. Back To December - Taylor Swift
3. Sino Nga Ba S'ya - Sarah Geronimo
4. Firework - Katy Perry
5. Hurricanes And Suns - Tokio Hotel
6. Hoot - Girls Generation
7. Linda Blair - Tanya Markova
8. Wag Na - Yeng Constantino
9. Grenade - Bruno Mars
10. Hanging Habagat - Champ

GLEE - Valerie

This song was performed after time Of My life during sectionals. What I love from this this performance is the dance performance of Mike Chang and Brittany Pierce. I am sooo in love with Heather Norris. Santana is also hot and her performance is, in my opinion, better than Amy Winehouse.

TODAY IN HISTORY: Wo Hu Cang Long Was Nominated For 10 Oscars

After marking his arrival in Hollywood with a string of English-language films, including Sense and Sensibility (1995), The Ice Storm (1997) and Ride with the Devil (1999), the Taiwanese film director Ang Lee decided to return to his roots for his next picture, which he intended largely for Chinese-language audiences. Ironically, the result--Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon--would become by far his biggest hit to date. On February 13, 2001, the film earned 10 Oscar nominations, becoming the first Asian film and only the seventh foreign-language offering to get a nod for Best Picture.

 Based on the traditional Chinese martial-arts genre known as wuxia, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon starred Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh as warriors in 19th-century China, during the Qing dynasty. Kept apart by honor, the two yearn for each other even as they become involved with a heated drama surrounding two younger lovers, played by Zhang Ziyi and Chang Chen. Aside from the touching love story at its center, the film boasted incredibly beautiful scenery, haunting music and--last but by no means least--elaborate battle sequences, with fighters flying through the air and performing other impossibly acrobatic feats. The film’s fight choreography was by Yuen Wo-Ping, who directed the action sequences in the blockbuster hit The Matrix (1999).

 In addition to the heaps of critical praise and awards--including a Golden Globe Award for Best Director for Lee, an Academy Award for Best Foreign-Language Film and three more Oscars in technical categories--Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was an unqualified hit at the box office. After first gaining notice on the film festival circuit, it was released in December 2000 on six screens in New York City. Encouraged by its success, the film’s distributor, Sony Picture Classics, widened its release, and it was eventually shown on some 1,200 screens throughout the country. Raking in more than $60 million at the U.S. box office (as well as $100 million worldwide), Crouching Tiger became the highest-grossing foreign-language film in American history, surpassing Roberto Benigni’s Life is Beautiful to claim the distinction.

 Though Lee’s rising star dimmed slightly with the disappointing performance of his first big-budget film, the superhero drama Hulk (2003), he bounced back with his next Hollywood offering, Brokeback Mountain (2005). The film, about two sheep herders who fall in love with each other against the dramatic backdrop of the Wyoming countryside, won Lee the Best Director Oscar; he was the first person of Asian heritage to receive that coveted statuette. Brokeback Mountain, which generated buzz for its frank depiction of homosexuality and repression, was also a front-runner for Best Picture, but it was upset by the ensemble drama Crash in one of the most surprising Oscar results in recent history.

TODAY IN HISTORY: Galileo Trial - DAYS THAT SHOOK THE WORLD

On this day in 1633, Italian philosopher, astronomer and mathematician Galileo Galilei arrives in Rome to face charges of heresy for advocating Copernican theory, which holds that the Earth revolves around the Sun. Galileo officially faced the Roman Inquisition in April of that same year and agreed to plead guilty in exchange for a lighter sentence. Put under house arrest indefinitely by Pope Urban VIII, Galileo spent the rest of his days at his villa in Arcetri, near Florence, before dying on January 8, 1642.

 Galileo, the son of a musician, was born February 15, 1564, in Pisa, Italy. He entered the University of Pisa planning to study medicine, but shifted his focus to philosophy and mathematics. In 1589, he became a professor at Pisa for several years, during which time he demonstrated that the speed of a falling object is not proportional to its weight, as Aristotle had believed. According to some reports, Galileo conducted his research by dropping objects of different weights from the Leaning Tower of Pisa. From 1592 to 1630, Galileo was a math professor at the University of Padua, where he developed a telescope that enabled him to observe lunar mountains and craters, the four largest satellites of Jupiter and the phases of Jupiter. He also discovered that the Milky Way was made up of stars. Following the publication of his research in 1610, Galileo gained acclaim and was appointed court mathematician at Florence.
Galileo's research led him to become an advocate of the work of the Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1573). However, the Copernican theory of a sun-centered solar system conflicted with the teachings of the powerful Roman Catholic Church, which essentially ruled Italy at the time. Church teachings contended that Earth, not the sun, was at the center of the universe. In 1633, Galileo was brought before the Roman Inquisition, a judicial system established by the papacy in 1542 to regulate church doctrine. This included the banning of books that conflicted with church teachings. The Roman Inquisition had its roots in the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, the purpose of which was to seek out and prosecute heretics, considered enemies of the state.

Today, Galileo is recognized for making important contributions to the study of motion and astronomy. His work influenced later scientists such as the English mathematician and physicist Sir Isaac Newton, who developed the law of universal gravitation. In 1992, the Vatican formally acknowledged its mistake in condemning Galileo.

MOVIES TO WATCH FOR 2011: Scream 4

The 4th installment of Scream is set to be released on April of 2011. The movie stars Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott, David Arquette as Sherrif Dewey Riley, Courtney Cox as Gale Weathers-Riley and Hayden Panettiere as Kirby Reed.

TODAY IN HISTORY: The Release Of Nelson Mandela (1990) - Days That Shook The World

Nelson Mandela, leader of the movement to end South African apartheid, is released from prison after 27 years on February 11, 1990.

In 1944, Mandela, a lawyer, joined the African National Congress (ANC), the oldest black political organization in South Africa, where he became a leader of Johannesburg's youth wing of the ANC. In 1952, he became deputy national president of the ANC, advocating nonviolent resistance to apartheid--South Africa's institutionalized system of white supremacy and racial segregation. However, after the massacre of peaceful black demonstrators at Sharpeville in 1960, Nelson helped organize a paramilitary branch of the ANC to engage in guerrilla warfare against the white minority government.
In 1961, he was arrested for treason, and although acquitted he was arrested again in 1962 for illegally leaving the country. Convicted and sentenced to five years at Robben Island Prison, he was put on trial again in 1964 on charges of sabotage. In June 1964, he was convicted along with several other ANC leaders and sentenced to life in prison.
Mandela spent the first 18 of his 27 years in jail at the brutal Robben Island Prison. Confined to a small cell without a bed or plumbing, he was forced to do hard labor in a quarry. He could write and receive a letter once every six months, and once a year he was allowed to meet with a visitor for 30 minutes. However, Mandela's resolve remained unbroken, and while remaining the symbolic leader of the anti-apartheid movement, he led a movement of civil disobedience at the prison that coerced South African officials into drastically improving conditions on Robben Island. He was later moved to another location, where he lived under house arrest.

In 1989, F.W. de Klerk became South African president and set about dismantling apartheid. De Klerk lifted the ban on the ANC, suspended executions, and in February 1990 ordered the release of Nelson Mandela.
Mandela subsequently led the ANC in its negotiations with the minority government for an end to apartheid and the establishment of a multiracial government. In 1993, Mandela and de Klerk were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. One year later, the ANC won an electoral majority in the country's first free elections, and Mandela was elected South Africa's president.

MOVIES TO WATCH FOR 2011: X-Men First Class Trailer

One of my favorite movie series will be releasing it's latest installment this year: X-MEN First Class. The movie will star James McAvoy as young Professor Charles Xavier and Michael Fassbender as young Erik Lehnsher a.k.a. Magneto. Other stars in the movie includes Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique, January Jones as Emma Frost, Rose Byrne as Dr. Moira MacTaggert and Nicholas Hoult as Beast. The story begins when Charles and Erik are just young men who are starting to discover their powers. They were close friends and will try to stop the greatest threat the world has ever known with the help of other mutant. The movie will also show the rift between Charles and Erik which began an eternal war between Magneto's Brotherhood and Professor X's X-Men. The movie is set to be shown on June of 20100. Can't wait!

CHASING PAVEMENT (Great Rendition)

OMG. This is one of the greatest covers I have ever heard. The singer is Gabe Bondoc. I agree that he lagged at some part of the song but it is not noticeable and he still did a great job. And this song is one of the best song I have ever heard. You go dude.

TOP 10 SONGS OF THE WEEK

U.S. BILLBOARD

1. Grenade - Bruno Mars
2. F**kin Perfect - P!nk
3. Fireworks - Katy Perry
4. Black And Yellow - Wiz Khalifa
5. Tonight (I'm Loving You) - Enrique Iglesias
6. What's My Name - Rihanna featuring Drake
7. Hey Baby (Drop It On The Floor) - Pitbull featuring T-Pain
8. Hold It Against Me - Britney Spears
9. Rocketeer - Far*East Movement featuring Ryan Tedder
10. We R Who We R - Ke$ha

MTV ASIA

1. Grenade - Bruno Mars
2. Fireworks - Katy Perry
3. Pray - Justin Bieber
4. We R Who We R - Ke$ha
5. Animal - Neon Tree
6. Back To December - Taylor Swift
7. Raise Your Glass - P!nk
8. Rocketeer - Far*East Movement featuring Ryan Tedder
9. Whip My Hair - Willow
10. The Time (Dirty Bit) - The Black Eyed Peas

MYX HITCHART

1. Sino Nga Ba S'ya - Sarah Geronimo2. Fireworks - Katy Perry
3. Pray - Justin Bieber
4. Hoot - Girl's Generation
5. Liwanag - Callalilly
6 Hurricanes And Suns - Tokio Hotel
7. Hanging Habagat - Champ
8. Lagi - Kiss Jane
9. Wag Na - Yeng Constantino
10 Mahal Kita (Di Mo Pansin) - Kyla

TODAY IN HISTORY: The Great Baltimore Fire (1904)

In Baltimore, Maryland, a small fire in the business district is wind-whipped into an uncontrollable conflagration that engulfs a large portion of the city by evening. The fire is believed to have been started by a discarded cigarette in the basement of the Hurst Building. When the blaze finally burned down after 31 hours, an 80-block area of the downtown area, stretching from the waterfront to Mount Vernon on Charles Street, had been destroyed. More than 1,500 buildings were completely leveled, and some 1,000 severely damaged, bringing property loss from the disaster to an estimated $100 million. Miraculously, no homes or lives were lost, and Baltimore's domed City Hall, built in 1867, was preserved.

The Great Baltimore Fire was the most destructive fire in the United States since the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 destroyed most of the city and caused an estimated $200 million in property damage.

MEET THE MODELS: America's Next Top Model Cycle 16 Part 1

The CW released a first look photo of the new cast for AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL Cycle 16! The series returns Wednesday, Feb. 23 at 8 p.m. ET. (Manila date and time yet to be announced)

Pictured above, from left: Dominique, Kasia, Brittani, Monique, Mikaela, Angelia, Hannah, Dalya, Nicole, Sara, Alexandria, Ondrei, Jaclyn and Molly.

On first look, it's a pretty diverse group. We noticed that most of the models are 23 or younger. But, there is a 26-year-old in the bunch: Kasia. Get ready to hear the "this is my last chance" stories.

The fourteen women will compete once again for the "high fashion" package of a contract with IMG Models, a fashion spread in Vogue Italia and a spread and cover of Beauty in Vogue, plus a $100,000 contract with CoverGirl Cosmetics.

Host Tyra Banks, Vogue fashion editor Andre Leon Taley, photographer Nigel Barker, photo shoot creative director Jay Manuel and runway trainer Miss J Alexander will be joined by this Cycle's "high fashion" guest judges, including expecting mom, stylist Rachel Zoe, Sudanese model and actress Alek Wek, Vogue Italia editor-in-chief Franca Sozzani, and costume designer/stylist for Gossip Girl, Eric Daman.

 

Here are the chosen models for Cycle 16. This is just the part 1 of the list:

                                                             Alexandria - 21 years old

                                                           Angelia - 20 years old

                                                            Brittani - 19 years old

                                                             Dalya - 21 years old

to be continued...