It's now down to 3 finalists - Lee, Crystal and Casey.  Of the 3, my favorite to win would be Lee - he's just so adorable and of course, with such nice singing voice... and the eyes!
Here' a duet of Lee and Crystal:
Apparently, the same song was sung by Kris Allen in last year's A.I. (Season 8). 

Here's Kris and his rendition of "Falling Slowly":
...And the rest is history.  Kris Allen went on to win the American Idol, Season 8.
I hope Lee wins this year.
Falling Slowly (Lyrics)

I don't know you
But I want you
All the more for that
Words fall through me
And always fool me
And I can't react
And games that never amount
To more than they're meant
Will play themselves out

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time
Raise your hopeful voice you have a choice
You'll make it now

Falling slowly, eyes that know me
And I can't go back
Moods that take me and erase me
And I'm painted black
You have suffered enough
And warred with yourself
It's time that you won

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time
Raise your hopeful voice you had a choice
You've made it now
Falling slowly sing your melody
I'll sing along
 
I'm supposed to be in hibernation, but the truth is, I wasn't able to post the past days because I got so busy.  Better get busy than to mope and bury myself into self pity.

So I'm back into tennis!  I enrolled in this summer tennis clinic in our place and for all I care that most of my classmates are kids.  One of them is even my daughter's classmate.  I'm not embarrased at all because I'm the best in the class, hahaha!  Actually I only enrolled to improve my serving skills but I ended up doing the lessons from the start, just like a beginner.  It's alright because I haven't been playing for some time now so it's a good way to refresh my skills.
I also began practising table tennis because we will be having our TT Tourney in the office soon.  We also have a tennis event but I don't know yet if it's going to push through. 

But after all these activities... at the end of the day... I think I still need a hug.
Check out this video below...

Backgrounder:
A man, under the pseudonym Juan Mann, was able to start the Free Hug Campaign on June 30, 2004 in central Sydney. He decided to start the campaign because he became upset when he got off a plane in Sydney and saw everyone else hugging but had no one to hug himself. So, he went to the busiest intersection in Sydney and held up a sign that said "Free Hugs". The police tried to shut him down and require him to obtain public liability insurance, but he says his "sole mission was to reach out and hug a stranger to brighten up their lives in this age of social disconnectivity and lack of human contact".

Unbeknownst to most, Juan Mann was actually brightening these people's lives as hugs have quite a few health benefits. Even if you don't like to hug people, 
I want to urge you to hug as many people as possible; it may lead to a longer life or at least a more enjoyable one.
 
This is an old video but I got to watch it only yesterday, and I don't know why, but it got me teary eyed... ok, I cried.  It's not a sad video but a "joy-rising" experience, as Oprah would say it afterwards.
 
Someone sent me this video a long time ago, and until now, this never fails to make me laugh.  The girl is just sooo cute and adorable.
Unfortunately, this only works if your browser is Internet Explorer.
 


A series of music videos of Josh Groban, with the following songs, listed below.  Actually, I don't know some of the songs, but with Josh Groban's singing voice, who cares?

1.  Vincent
2.  February Song
3.  Alejate
4.  You Raise Me Up
5.  The Star Spangled Banner
6.  To Where You Are
7.  You Are Loved
8.  ---
9.  ---
10. Remember
11. Broken Vow
12. Canto Alla Vita
 
I have read a lot about Susan Boyle and her stint with Britain's Got Talent.  Frankly speaking, I was quite impressed by what she achieved and of course, impressed by her talent, that is, based from what I read.  So I was fortunate to stumble upon this video of hers, showing her first audition.  And yes, I was awed.  Soothing voice.  Good song choice.  Nice rendition.  I was moved by this song that now I want to listen to the Les Miserables playlist.  "On My Own" is top of the list to search.

And for now, this is "I Dreamed A Dream", from Les Miserables.
Lyrics:

I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high
And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving
Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used and wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung, no wine untasted

But the tigers come at night
With their voices soft as thunder
As they tear your hope apart
And they turn your dream to shame

He slept a summer by my side
He filled my days with endless wonder
He took my childhood in his stride
But he was gone when autumn came

And still I dream he'll come to me
That we will live the years together
But there are dreams that cannot be
And there are storms we cannot weather

I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I'm living
So different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed the dream I dreamed.

Sad, isn't it.


 
 
Imelda Marcos at her prime.
From DavidByrne.com :

 At some point as first lady, Imelda began to feel that she could help Philippine interests by charming world leaders into seeing things her way. “Handbag diplomacy” she called it — as she liked to imply that to solve a problem, she could bypass President Marcos and just grab a handbag and hop on a plane with some of her assistants. It sometimes worked! There was, for example, an Islamic-backed insurgency rising in the south of the Philippine archipelago, and she thought that a leader in that part of the world, Qaddafi in this case, might help pull the plug on that support if he saw things her way. Apparently he did — the funding stopped and the insurrection lost momentum, and she later described him as a pushover, a mama’s boy.
 
I did not cook much during the weekend.  It was my eldest daughter Alexa's prom (she's in junior high) last Friday night and I was busy with bringing her to the parlor for her hair and makeup, preparing her prom dress and accessories, driving her to the venue, etc. etc.  Then the next day it was my scheduled market and groceries day, and in the afternoon, Pauline asked me to drive her and her friend Kim to the mall.  Aaargh I was so exhausted that night,  I slept like a log...(singing the Beatle's song on my head now...") 

Sunday afternoon I was back on track.  I prepared Indian Mango shake for lunch then cooked banana fritters (maruya) for snacks.  Kids loved the banana fritters so probably next week I'll cook that again.  At night Alexa was reminding me of a dish we ate in a Chinese restaurant that she loved -- it's dish with eggplants and garlic and maybe oyster sauce on it.  I told her I'll look for the recipe in the net and will try cooking it next week.  For the meantime, here's what I found, the authentic chinese way of cooking stir fry.  I said authentic because it's a chinese guy doing the cooking. hee-hee.
powered by ifood.tv
 
A very funny and cute video. 
***
 
Sexy star Ara Mina being interviewed by Mo Twister.  Ara will be running for Councilor in Quezon City in the coming 2010 elections.  This serves as a warning to all QC voters out there.

Note:  I got this video on YouTube (from AndiandJessica's videos).  I uploaded it to Vimeo coz unlike YouTube, Vimeo is not blocked in the office. Cheers! =)