YOUTH OLYMPICS 2010 Final Medal Tally

The inaugural Youth Olympics held in Singapore has ended. Ninety-seven countries (out of 203) won at least 1 of the 623 medals to be won during the games.

How did our young athletes fared? But first, lets have a look at the Top 3 which looked like an Asian powerhouse:

1. CHINA: Gold 30, Silver 16, Bronze 5, Total 51

2. RUSSIA: Gold 18, Silver 14, Bronze 11, Total 43

3. SOUTH KOREA: Gold 11, Silver 4, Bronze 4, Total 19

Here's what our young athletes was able to accomplish:

 14. THAILAND: Gold 4, Silver 3, Bronze 0, Total 7
 41. VIETNAM: Gold 1, Silver 1, Bronze 2, Total 4
 62. SINGAPORE: Gold 0, Silver 2, Bronze 4, Total 6
 65. MALAYSIA: Gold 0, Silver 2, Bronze 0, Total 2
 84. CAMBODIA: Gold 0, Silver 0, Bronze 1, Total 1
 84. INDONESIA: Gold 0, Silver 0, Bronze 1, Total 0

No medals for the Philippines, Laos, Myanmar, Brunei and Timor Leste.

ขอบคุณครับ | Terima kasih | Cám ơn | Thanks to our young Olympians!


See y'all in Nanjing!

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A Mysterious Record of Events in 1593

Here, I bet not a lot of you in the Philippines know about this... one of the earliest recorded story of what seem to be like what we modernly call: a "jumper".

Gil Pérez was a Spanish soldier of the Filipino Guardia Civil who allegedly suddenly appeared in the Plaza Mayor of Mexico City (more than 9,000 nautical miles from Manila, across the Pacific) on October 24, 1593. He was wearing the uniform of the guards of Palacio Del Gobernador in the Philippines, and claimed he had no idea how he had arrived in Mexico. Some historians doubt the accuracy of the story, which does not appear in writing until a century after the supposed event.

Perez claimed that moments before finding himself in Mexico he had been on sentry duty in Manila at the governor’s palace. He admitted that while he was aware that he was no longer in the Philippines, he had no idea where he was or how he had gotten there. He said that moments before he arrived there, His Excellency the Governor of the Philippines, Gomez Perez Dasmariñas had been killed by Chinese pirates. He explained that after long hours of duty in Manila, he felt faint, leaned against a wall and closed his eyes; he said he opened his eyes a second later to find himself somewhere different.

When it was explained to him that he was now in Mexico City, Perez refused to believe it saying that he had received his orders on the morning of October 23 in Manila and that it was therefore impossible for him to be in Mexico City on the evening of the 24th. The authorities placed Perez in jail as a deserter and for the possibility that he may have been in the service of Satan. The Most Holy Tribunal of the Inquisition questioned the soldier, but all he could say in his defense was that he had travelled from Manila to Mexico “in less time than it takes a cock to crow”.

Two months later, news from the Philippines arrived by Manila Galleon, confirming the fact of the literal axing on October 23 of Dasmariñas in a mutiny of Chinese rowers, as well as other points of the mysterious soldier’s fantastic story. Witnesses confirmed that Gil Perez had indeed been on duty in Manila just before arriving in Mexico. Furthermore, one of the passengers on the ship recognized Perez and swore that he had seen him in the Philippines on October 23. Gil Perez eventually returned to the Philippines and took up his former position as a palace guard, living thenceforth an apparently uneventful life.

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COOL ADVERT: "Get Them Off Your Dog" | Jakarta

This is a huge (225 square meter) sticker in a mall with people looking like cooties from the upper floors. There were actually 3 malls in a city with such a creative advert.

Advertising Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi Jakarta, Indonesia
Art Directors: Aryanto Salim, Joel Clement
Copywriters: Pancaputera, Juhi Kalia
Photographer: Heret Frasthio

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Sin Son and Sambo

True friendship knows no specie...






Heart warming, isn't it? I'll visit both of them soon.


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The Uber-Spectacular Langkawi Skybridge

The Langkawi Sky Bridge on Gunung Mat Cincang is endorsed by Travel and Leisure Magazine as one of the world's most spectacular bridge designs. It is 700 metres above sea level making it one of the world's highest single support bridges.

Atop this bridge, you can get a 360 degree views of the Langkawi Archipelago, the Amdaman Sea, and Southern Thailand.






A perfect example of why Malaysia is the region's frontrunner in environmental preservation.

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How the Queenly Miss Philippines Lost the Chance

Our fellow Oriental beauty power house, the Philippines sent a very queenly delegate to the Miss Universe this year. Everybody was saying, 'Oh shoots! Asia will bag it this year.' But...

The 5 FINALISTS are:

Miss Mexico, Miss Australia, Miss Jamaica, Miss Ukraine and Miss Philippines.

Yes! The dreaded final question! They have 30 seconds to answer. Here are their questions and excerpts from their answers.

Miss Mexico Jimena Navarrete: What effect is unsupervised Internet use having on today's youth? Through an interpreter, she says the Internet is an "indispensable, necessary tool" and we have to make sure kids are using it according to family values.

Miss Australia Jesinta Campbell: What role should the government play in regulating potentially offensive clothing? "One of the greatest things we have is the freedom of choice...I don't think the government should have any say in what we wear."

Miss Jamaica Yendi Phillipps: Is the death penalty acceptable and why? "I believe that life is a gift...I believe that none of us as humans have the right to take a life."

Miss Ukraine Anna Poslavska: How do you feel about full-body scanners in airports? Through an interpreter, she says, "I think it's a very important question of security...if that helps us to save the lives of people, then I'm for it."

Miss Philippines Venus Raj: What is one big mistake you've made and what did you do to make it right? She says she hasn't made any major mistakes, then gives a shout-out to her family. "Thank you so much that I am here."

OK, that was the worst answer of the bunch.


Judgment time.

Fourth runner-up: Miss Philippines
Third runner-up: Miss Ukraine
Second runner-up: Miss Australia
First runner-up: Miss Jamaica

Winner: Miss Mexico!

Mexico and Philippines was neck-and-neck in swimsuit and evening gown. It is very obvious the organizers wanted Philippines to win or be in the Top 5. So, the easiest personal question was asked.

All they were asking for was HONESTY. An honest and transparent Miss Universe.

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Thailand Bags Best National Costume & Miss Photogenic

Thailand's delegate to the Miss Universe 2010, Fonthip Watcharatrakul (ฝนทิพย์ วัชรตระกู), bagged both Best National Costume and Miss Photogenic awards.

The winning National Costume

The inspiration from Thai ancient murals.

The designer, Phalin Aphinyakul, who won over hundreds of submissions.

The winning photograph for Miss Photogenic.

Thank you, Pook Look!

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Youth Olympics Medal Tally as of 22 Aug 11:00 AM

As of press time, a total 379 medals has been already won in the entire game. With 123 Gold, 121 Silver and 136 Bronze. The Top 3 countries are:

1. CHINA: Gold 19, Silver 12, Bronze 3, Total 34

2. RUSSIA: Gold 14, Silver 10, Bronze 8, Total

3. SOUTH KOREA: Gold 7, Silver 2, Bronze 2, Total 11

Here's what our young delegates has achieved so far in 8 days:


 12. THAILAND: Gold 3, Silver 3, Bronze 0, Total 6
 24. VIETNAM: Gold 1, Silver 1, Bronze 2, Total 4
 45. SINGAPORE: Gold 0, Silver 1, Bronze 2, Total 3
 55. MALAYSIA: Gold 0, Silver 1, Bronze 0, Total 1
 60. CAMBODIA: Gold 0, Silver 0, Bronze 1, Total 1
 60. INDONESIA: Gold 0, Silver 0, Bronze 1, Total 0


No medal yet for the Philippines, Laos, Myanmar, Brunei and Timor Leste.





Good luck to our young Olympians!

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Weekend BlogHop

We looked around our blog links and it's very sad to find out that most of them stopped blogging around the same time as BISEAN did. Well, we just took a hiatus, y'know.

We just hope they could return blogging soon and we really hope they are fine. Here's our surving links! Still alive and kicking! BISEAN hoppin' around...



Jerick is upset finding 'somebody' from the past on Facebook.
Maurina visits Di Mammania Italian restaurant and reviews the dishes.
Aidil did skydiving in Sydney last May.

Senja covers Epul and Dilla's wedding in Seremban.
Daucus Sebastian feeling a bit depressed with his self assessments. *send him some love*
Thadie writes about monogamy.

Jake talks about the joy of innocence.
The Lost Boy (Matt) is in Bangladesh! Writes about what he sees around.
Xiaxue is doing some jimble-jumbling of thoughts. Some looooong thoughts.

Chris talks about the cost of living in Bali.
Ditta took some pics at a night in Alkid.
Kok Soon Lai took some pictures of his Gunung Datok adventures in Rembau.

Fanzi decided to move and blog at Tumblr *Why, oh why?!!!*
Nee gives out tips on braids for the girls.
Andrew Batt talks about English magazines breaking the law in Thailand.


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The World Comes to Singapore!

Cool kids for the Youth Olympics 2010.

BITATAWA: Meet Our New Dragon

In 05 April 2010, Biology Letters officially published online the discovery of a new giant lizard specie discovered in the Philippines. Now if you can remember, this is not the first dragon here but the second. And it is found on the main island of Luzon as opposed to the Butaan; only found on an isolated island of Polilio.

The very first sighting of it by science was in 2001. When scientists met hunters carrying it -- it was for dinner, so they just took a photo and let the hunters go. The Agta and Ilongot people of the Sierra Madre forests consider it as a delicacy. Yum!

Thanks to SMS (Texting, as it is famously called), the lizard was finally recorded by science. Scientist received a text message from biology students about its sighting. How is it different? Mainly its yellow markings. It is also a fruitarian like the Butaan.

Its fancy name is Varanus bitatawa. I dunno how it is called locally.
Any inputs from our Filipino friends?

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Photo courtesy of WiredNews

OUR GIRLS IN THE MISS UNIVERSE 2010

Here are our FABULOUS delegates to the 2010 Miss Universe Pageant to be held in Las Vegas, Nevada. Live telecast of the coronation will be on 23 August 2010, Monday.

Our 5 girls will compete against 78 other delegates from around the globe. I don't know why Vietnam failed to send one this year (Can anyone give an input?)

Qory Sandioriva, 18, Jakarta
Nadine Ann Thomas, 23, Kuala Lumpur
Venus Raj, 22, Bato Town
Tania Lim, 23, Singapore
Fonthip Watcharatrakul ฝนทิพย์ วัชรตระกูล, 20, Samut Prakan

Please note that none of our girls look anything like the day they left their countries for the pageant. Why do they have to alter their looks? Anyways...

Good luck, girls! Bring home the pearls. Ooops! I forgot, they changed the crown into a cheap-looking rhinestone tiara. Ok, bring home the rhinestones!!! Go, go, go!!


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Can you predict their chances?

Photos courtesy of MissUniverse.com

HOW DO YOU TELL A STORY WITHOUT WORDS?

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THE DIVAS OF SOUTHEAST ASIA

A “diva”, according to Merriam-Webster English dictionary: 1. prima donna 2. Usually glamorous and successful female performer or personality. The word came from the Latin word “divus” which means goddess or a female deity.

The word came to the English language in 1883 and used for operatic prima donnas that time. The contemporary term “Diva” is believed to have started with Maria Callas – the Greek-American opera singer who earned worldwide fame in the 50s. Then there was Googoosh of Persia, Edith Piaf of France, Rocio Jurado of Spain and many others.


BISEAN will list and feature the divas of our great region.

How will we do it?

To lessen "subjectivity" like voice quality, singing style, fan-base, etc. -- We came up with the 5 most common criteria of a Diva. These will be the objective principles to be used in our pursuit to list the region’s ultimate divas:

1. Fame. Her name is known to at least 3 generations; a confirmation of her staying power.

2. Signature Song. A song that only her name is attributed to. No other singer dares to sing it without acknowledging her name.

3. Cultural contribution. Her music represents her nation’s identity and heritage; made an impact to the local music industry.

4. A goddess is never always available. She has no fan-base but commands respect from the public and fellow performers. Appearances are rare.

5. Real tragic drama. Her personal life is one big spectacle itself. The raw emotions of her real life resonate through her songs.

We need our reader’s involvement.

We have already prepared a short list, but we welcome contributions to list the Divas of Southeast Asia.


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MEET OUR NEW SONGBIRD: The Bare-Faced Bulbul

Ha! Our good neighbor Laos has revealed yet another new specie of song birds -- this is the Bare-Faced Bulbul -- only found among the tower-like limestones of the jungles of Savannakhet Province. It is the only known "bald" song birds in Mainland Asia.

It was discovered by Aussie scientists in December 2008 and published in Forktail in July 2009. These birds were noisily foraging around the camp, obviously haven't seen humans before.

How can a very odd creature with distinct features evade humans for centuries? Amazing! Well, maybe because the BFB's habitat is legally protected in Laos and is mainly harsh and inhabitable.

The Bare-Faced Bulbul's official name is Pycnonotus hualon. It is the 138th addition of the world's 137 listed species of Bulbuls. Bulbul maybe derived from the Turkish word "bulbul" which means "nightingale". And no, the Filipino word for "pubic hair" is of a different spelling so don't go smart a** with me =). Ha!

Although our region is faced with seemingly hopeless, endless string of endangered species; BISEAN cheer and celebrate this new discovery!

Thank you, Laos.

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OUR GIRLS IN THE MISS UNIVERSE 2009

Here are our gorgeous delegates to the Miss Universe Pageant this year in Nassau, Bahamas. Live telecast of the coronation will be on 23 August 2009, Sunday.



Zivanna Letisha Siregar, 20, 5'10", Jakarta
JoannaBelle Ng, 21,5'8", Kota Kinabalu
Pamela Manalo, 22, 5'10", Manila
Rachel Kum, 24, 5'7", Singapore
Chutima Durongdej, 23, 5'10", Bangkok
Võ Hoàng Yến, 20, 5'10, Ho Chi Minh City


Zivanna was Indonesia's Elite Model Look winner. Võ Hoàng is Vietnam's Supermodel 2008 winner. Chances? Too early to tell. But with the current trending on how they choose a Miss Universe -- these two will fit the ranks.

But if they are looking for a real beauty queen, it's Philippines' Bianca hands down.

Good luck, girls! Bring home the pearls.

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OUR ICONS: Corazon Aquino

Anyone born before or after 1986 knows who Corazon Aquino is. The gentle, soft-spoken, simple housewife who became the 11th President of the Philippines that year and started a “wave” of People Power revolts across the globe.

She is the first female President in Southeast Asia and one of the firsts in the world. Her name is not restricted to the Philippines, "Cory" *her nick name* is a democracy icon in human’s modern history.

Needless to say, the whole world knows who she is. And the forgetful ones scruffled the Internet in the past 3 days trying to get a refresher *she is the top search on the Net right now*.

And I bet if the Martians and Plutonians are reading Time Magazine, they know her too.

Southeast Asia and the world lost one of our greatest icons – Cory passed away last Saturday (01 August 2009) after a long battle with cancer.

BISEAN arrived in Manila this morning to brave the sea of people who will try to get a last glimpse of her at the Manila Cathedral tonight. We want to be part of history. We want to see her for the last time.

See her full biography here.

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IN LOVING MEMORY...

A beautiful soul, a brother, a son... a good friend says good bye...





MOR GANH NGUYEN HERITIER
01 July 1980 - 03 April 2009

Died doing what he loves best, surfing.
Bali, Indonesia.


We will miss you.

We hope to see you in our next life. We'll find you.


*BISEAN will resume blogging on Morgan's 28th Birthday. We will try.


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