Is Arnel Pineda leaving Journey? I am very surprised to learn that this kind of rumor has been circulating the internet for sometime now. People who end up on this site come from search engines using the keywords: “Arnel Pineda leaving journey.” There is no news about it at all here in the United States. I can only infer that this type of fabrication could only come from malicious reporters in the Philippines who want to sell their fictional story to anyone who would buy it.

There is no truth to this gossip and is plain hearsay. Even Arnel Pineda himself assured the public that he is not leaving and he will remain as the lead singer of Journey for as long as the band would want him to be. Journey’s official website continue to share updates to their fans and Arnel’s photos with the band still greet you when you visit the site.

In fact their October 2009 release two-disc Live In Manila concert DVD, debuting at the top of Billboard’s Top Music Video Sales chart , (marking the first time the band has topped this chart) has Arnel Pineda singing in front of 30,000 people in the Philippines last March. Why would they release a DVD of the concert if Arnel would no longer be part of the group?

There is also a documentary film in post production now and expected to be released in 2010 about Arnel Pineda and Journey, entitled: “Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey”. The feature film is written, produced and directed by US based Filipina Ramona Diaz, known for her documentary film “Imelda” about the former First Lady of the Philippines.

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I have written about our homeboy Arnel Pineda’s personal ‘journey’ a few times on this site. His humble past, unassuming demeanor, and his discovery to worldwide stardom truly make him one of the Philippine’s modern-day heroes.

Could the Philippines have been so wrong about him?

Arnel was a struggling musician before all these. It is a sad fact that in his early years, he had to sing in foreign lands as he was never appreciated nor recognized as a star in his own country. There was no market for Arnel Pineda in the Philippines. In 1991, He moved to Hong Kong where he lived and performed for the next 15 years. His self-titled album released in 1999 is hardly remembered while his 2007 debut album of his band, The Zoo simply passed without any hoopla.

He said with such honesty in the upcoming documentary “Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey” that his dream for his band, The Zoo was to make it big in the Philippines- just to be big in the Philippines alone. He covered songs of foreign bands and had to settle for gigs in local and Asian bars while the names Gary Valenciano and Martin Nievera; bands like the Dawn, Eraserheads and Rivermaya, continue to claim huge local popularity. In our faces, huh! Shame on me, I have never even heard of Arnel Pineda until Journey’s official statement in mid December 2007.

It took an outsider, a foreigner to discover Arnel Pineda. How can we have been so oblivious and heedless all that time?! But fate is a funny thing isn’t it? It had to be that way for him. All his hardships, his trials and his rejections only prepared him for a much bigger opportunity. Had he been so big in the Philippines, would it turn out differently? Would he still become Journey’s frontman?

(photo from arnelpinedarocks.com)

He has gone where no other Filipino artist had gone, capturing America. He has walked where neither Gary V nor Martin N had stepped on, performing in front of thousands and thousands of people on tour all over the world. He is in a place where he has every Filipino’s dream on his hand and we can only admire from a distance, watch in awe as this man continue his journey touching and warming people’s lives. What an inspiration.

One can never really foretell his own destiny until it unfolds so in Journey’s iconic own words “Don’t Stop Believin.’”

photo by Ninfa Bito, “Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey” site

Share the news. Spread the word. Let’s support Journey. Let’s support Arnel Pineda by buying their original cds and DVDs! Visit the official film site and watch the trailer for the upcoming film here. Check out Arnel’s official site here.

Embrace the season of good tidings with 20 free holiday tracks. The iTunes Holiday Sampler features classic renditions from artists such as Weezer and Lady Antebellum, plus holiday originals from Stephen Colbert and Glasvegas. Best of all, this free sampler comes with iTunes LP so you can browse through photos and lyrics, read more about the artists, and more. Better hurry, the iTunes Holiday Sampler will be available for one week only, and only on iTunes 9.*

Just got my sampler. Beautiful arrangements to timeless classics… (although if I hear another “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” song in the store malls, I might just strangle someone! It’s stuck in my head as my LSS!!)

1 O Come All Ye Faithful Amy Grant
2 The First Noel David Archuleta
3 Silent Night Sarah McLachlan
4 Carol of the Bells / Jingle Bells
5 It Snowed Meaghan Smith
6 Above the Northern Lights Mannheim Steamroller
7 Baby, It’s Cold Outside Lady Antebellum
8 We Three Kings Toby Keith
9 God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
10 Silent Night Wynonna
11 Twelve Days of Christmas Mexicani Marimba Band
12 We Wish You a Merry Christmas Weezer
13 A Snowflake Fell (And It Felt Like a Kiss) Glasvegas
14 Another Christmas Song Stephen Colbert
15 Greensleeves Vince Guaraldi Trio
16 Dream a Dream Charlotte Church
17 The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act 2: Character Dances (Divertissement) – Dance of the Reed Pipes Kirov Orchestra & Valery Gergiev
18 Angels We Have Heard On High Aretha Franklin
19 O Holy Night Musiq Soulchild
20 Auld Lange Syne The Lonesome Travelers
Total: 20 Songs

Get the download here.

The fine print: For US Residents only

* This offer ends December 17, 2009 and is applicable only on the U.S. iTunes Store. To download the sampler, you must have an iTunes account, subject to prior acceptance of license and usage terms. To open an account you must be above the age of 13 and in the U.S. iTunes 9.0 or later, compatible hardware and software, and Internet access (fees may apply) are required.

I’m a self-proclaimed shopaholic. I’m always a sucker for coupons, sales and deals and that somehow takes off the ‘guilt’ from buying too much! I shop online all the time and what gets me to pick a particular online store over another is free shipping or pick-up-in-store deals.

This is going to be a new section on this site. I’ll try to update as much as I can whenever I find a deal or coupon code for online shopping. I’ll also put in drawing and sweepstakes even though I have never won anything yet- ever! Links to free sampling too, why not?! Please NOTE: most promotions and deals are for US residents only. Here goes:

>> FREE Twilight Sticker packs: Team Jacob or Team Edward is still available at Cafe Press until December 31st. Get the link here.

>> Get FREE shipping on orders over $65 from CafePress

$5 off $50 purchase until December 2009, coupon code: CANNYBOUNTY or ATTICSINROAD
$5 off your next purchase of $40 or more. Simply enter coupon code SRV1310 when checking out.
Coupon expires December 17, 2009.

Key in coupon code: NEWMOON110 valid until Friday, December 11th for *FREE Shipping over $50.00! Key in LASTSHIP until Sunday, December 13th for the same promotion.

* Free Economy or Standard shipping for CafePress.com purchases of $50 or more, excluding shipping charges and applicable sales tax. Delivery address must be within the United States and cannot be a PO Box. All orders will be Economy shipping unless the order is not eligible for Economy shipping (e.g., order exceeds Economy weight restrictions). Coupon code must be entered at check out. Promotion starts on December 8, 2009, at 12:00 a.m. (PST) and ends on December 11, 2009 at 11:59 p.m. (PST). Cannot be combined with any other CafePress.com coupons or promotions and this offer may change, be modified or cancelled at anytime without notice.

>> Not backing up your files? What and where to backup? Read my suggestions here. Or just get 2GB automatic online backup for free right away here courtesy of MOZY. This works as a referral so when you sign up, don’t forget to invite friends. For every friend who signs up, you get 256MB of free space. The more friends, the more free space!

>> OLD NAVY 20% off Purchase + Free Shipping on $50 above purchase. valid until December 15. Coupon code: ONSAVE20

>> Barnes and Noble online – 30% off on select books! Use coupon code L7L4H9T, valid until December 14th. Get more info about the promotion and what’s included on the sale here.

>> Barnes and Noble online, $10 off $19.95 purchase if you use your Mastercard credit card. valid for a limited time, starting December 11, 2009. This offer is subject to change or discontinuation without notice; To save $10 you must enter coupon code Y8V3U7F at checkout

>> Sports Authority 25% off a single item valid December 10-13. Coupon code: TSADECM

>>Christmas Tree Shop: $10 off $50 purchase until December 16th. Print coupon here.

Sweepstakes:

>> Win free Kotex® for one year

Win FREE Kotex for a year! O.K., so getting your period isn’t exactly like winning the lottery. But you can still win big with Kotex®. Every 28 days you have a chance at winning a year’s supply of your favorite Kotex® products. That means you can spend your cash on other important stuff like MP3s, shoes or maybe a year’s supply of chocolate.

>> Free Sample Kit of Sanitary products

>> Sign up to get a free BeingGirl Sample Kit. Just fill out a quick survey. Included in the kit are: 2 Tampax Pearl Tampons, 1 Compak Pearl Tampon, 1 Always Infinity Maxi-Pad, 2 Always Pantiliners, and 1 Always Feminine Wipe.

>> Free Two Luggage Tags from KLM

Throw away those boring luggage tags and give your baggage a new look by designing your own, unique tag. You can use a photo of your family, your favorite destination, or, to make it easier, you can choose from one of the images pre-selected by KLM.

Two tags will be made with your design to ensure you can easily recognize your bags among thousands of others. Or, you can give the tags to someone else as a gift.

* maximum of one set of two labels per person

>> Win a trip for four to one of four National Parks, including $1000 spending money or weekly giveaways of a $250 Pre-Paid Visa® Gift Card.

GE Hybrid Water Heater Sweepstakes until 01/03/10 at 11:59:59 P.M., ET. Enter Daily, click here.

Any computer user knows how vital it is to have a backup of all our important computer files. Any computer user also knows that even with the risk of losing valuable data, half the time we are not backing up as we should. We have many excuses for it, the same excuses we use for leaving something undone or unfixed: procrastination, do not have the time, too taxing, time consuming, no extra storage available, etc.

When calamity strikes, when something hit us without warning, we are only left crying and hitting ourselves for not doing what we should have done in the first place.

A family friend lost his over thousand dollars Macbook, his girlfriend’s notebook and his external hard drive when their apartment was broken in recently. More than the value of the computers and hard drive combined, expensive as it was, what they were most sad about was losing ALL their data on the machines. He just graduated and all his college files, research, papers counting 4 years were there. Years and years of vacation photos from all parts of the world, compilation of music, videos, digital files and documents- all gone. How do you put value to that? They are irreplaceable and priceless.

I was stunned by the news and seriously felt sick when I put myself in his shoes. I was speechless because I wouldn’t know how to deal with that kind of material loss. I wanted to cry right then while a tinge of panic struck me. I am NOT ready for that kind of loss. My computer is practically my whole life placed in an unprotected digital box! I’d go crazy if I lose ALL my files. I will probably not recover!

That was a kick in my butt and totally forced me to update my own backups ASAP!

What to back up?

Backing up EVERYTHING may not be a great solution if you’re like me who loves to take hundreds of photos of one event, stores even the crappy and silly ones, record TV shows, rip music and movies into digital files, and keep documents even from 10 years ago! We have a home server with 2 Terabytes (TB) full of those plus four 500GB external hard drive and counting. But paranoid as I am, I still want to keep a backup of a back of a backup! I have made DVD backups of my photos and music and realized I stopped in 2008. I have no back up at all of any of this year’s events and this is the last month of 2009! I have been all over the US this year and the accumulated pics are huge and no backups? YAY! I will not be able to recreate those moments and memories and I will probably not go back to any of the places I already visited so I need those backups.

Backup what’s important to you. Ask yourself every time: if I lose this data, will I be absolutely, positively ok with it? Will I recover? If you answered yes, then it’s probably not worth backing up. But if your answer is a resounding NO! Then by golly, back it up!

Location. Location, Location!

Where to back up files? The most sensible and easiest thing to do of course is to have an external hard drive attached to your notebook with a ‘mirror’ of what’s on your computer. However, as my friend’s case was, his back up being an external hard drive was stolen too! If you really value your files and you’ll die or go crazy like me if you lose them, then backup a backup of your backup!

>> Put aside an external hard drive that you do not use other than to backup files. Place all your important data there and hide it. Keep it in a locked filing cabinet, a hidden drawer, wherever it is that is not easily visible and or that you’re the only one who has access to it. Every month, put it out and update the files or add more files to it. Then hide it again. For smaller data, use a USB flash or thumb drive. They’re very small and easy to hide or carry.

>> On top of the ‘hidden’ external hard drive, create DVD copies of your files. External hard drives CAN FAIL AND WIPE OUT YOUR DATA! There is nothing like a DVD backup. As long as you keep it clean and scratch-free, it will continue to read your files.

This isn’t full-proof. What if the thief still found your hidden place? What if your dog ate it? What if your house burns down?!! What if…?

>> Find a friend or relative that you can trust and leave copies of your backup to them, either an external hard drive or DVDs for them to keep.

>> Rent a safety deposit box! (Too expensive!)

>> Put it in the trunk of your car! (Your car could be stolen too! The humidity and temperature could affect your hard drive also- too hot or too cold or too damp!)

>> Leave your backups in your workplace if you have keys to your own drawers. (Of course the building where you work at could be hit by a UFO and gets buried underground…!)

>> Carry it around wherever you go! Strap it to yourself. (This is extreme and something I have yet to do- maybe when I become that irrational…)

THE BEST SOLUTION?

Simple. Automatic. Secure. Fast. Safe. The answer is Online Storage. The key feature here is peace of mind. Online storage solves every scenario I have presented earlier about the limitations of an external hard drive or DVDs. The question now is how much are you willing to spend for that peace of mind and assurance?

Well for starters, it could be FREE! Free is always great; even better when there are no strings attached. I have searched the internet for the best online service that can store all types of files. Photo sharing sites like Flickr.com or social networking sites Facebook or Friendster while it stores your photos, are also meant to be shared to the world. You wouldn’t want to bore people by showing them 20 poses of you that you won’t delete taken in one same spot, would you? These sites are also just limited to keeping photos, same goes with online photography stores like Snapfish, Seehere, Kodak and Shutterfly that will store your photos provided you order from them at least once a year or they will delete them or something like that.

The two best online storage I have found that really works and are FREE and which I have been using for over a year now is: ADrive and Mozy.

ADrive gives a remarkable 50GB FREE storage! With the Basic plan intended for individual or personal use, you already have the essentials to store, backup, share, and edit documents online. The Basic plan also features:

• Universal Access
• 50GB Storage Capacity (per account)
• File Sharing
• Folder/Directory Upload
• File Download
• Easy Search Tool
• Remote File Transfer
• International Character Support
• Zoho® Editor

They offer two paid plans starting at $6.95 a month or $69.50 a year.

The good:

>> FREE 50GB. That is a lot of storage!

>> No annoying pop-up ads. The ads in the free plan is not over powering or not too distracting.

>> No setup fee, no monthly payments, no credit cards, no hassle. Fast registration.

>> You can share the file with anyone.

>> You can download the files back on your computer again.

The downside:

>> They don’t offer automatic backups for the free service (of course).

>> You have to manually upload each file/photo to a folder you create in your account. The upload tool uses java which allows you to select as many photos as you would like for one upload up to 1000 files. However, as I find out, this is most unreliable because your system or their system could time out base on you internet connection and once you’re disconnected, your upload stops and even if it says 98% or 600 files copied out of 1000, sometimes the files aren’t copied at all and you still end up re-uploading those files. To avoid the hassle, I keep the upload to 50 files/photos at a time.

>> During the upload, you can’t switch between tabs to view other websites. (But you can always open another Firefox browser for the fix.)

>> They just added an extra security to prevent bots from logging in. A human verification to key in numbers that are very hard to read is required every log in.

>> They log you out when idle even only after a short time. I end up logging in every half an hour I think, which is cumbersome after awhile especially having to key in the verification keys every single time!

>> No referral system. I love referrals! Nice to get something back for your efforts.

MOZY! I love Mozy.

The good:

>> No setup fee, no monthly payments, no credit cards, no hassle. Fast registration.

>> Designed to work as a backup from the get-go. After the quick install, it gets to work of backing up checked files at once.

>> Works quietly in the background. Install and forget. Even after a reboot or shutdown, it starts itself. Doesn’t suck up the CPU or take up space in your machine.

>> Shows up a dialog box when a backup is successfully completed. (Option to hide)

>> Can configure right in your desktop without going to your account and log in on their website. Check and uncheck the folders you want backed up.

>> Unlimited backup for personal users is only $4.95 a month! Something to think about when the need to have more space arises.

>> Does referrals! So yes, let me invite you to join and sign up for Mozy today. For a limited time, for every person that clicks on the link here and starts using Mozy, we’ll both get another 512MB of free backup space. That’s right, we both get the extra space! That’s 1GB of free space for every two people! There is no limit on the free space we can get. So go ahead, sign up and invite friends so you get to have more free space. It all adds up. The regular free space for every referral is 256MB.

The Downside:

>> Only 2 GB free! (But with the referral system, we can get more!)

>> Not sure if in the paid service you could do this. But you don’t get to see the files that were supposedly backed up in your account. No way of knowing but fingers crossed– that the files checked to be backed up are actually there when you do need to restore them because they said so.

Conclusion:

What Adrive lacks Mozy provides and what Mozy lacks, Adrive has. I recommend use of the two services. Together I think it will best fit a regular computer user’s needs for backup- at least to backup some of the important ones anyway. Do what you have to do to protect your precious memories by backing up in whatever form or all of it.

I still have my physical backup on hand here at home, my external hard drives, the home server and the DVDs. The online storage is yet another way to appease my fear of losing my data.  We can never replicate those moments captured in images and videos. If you lose them, you lose a major part of the memories. What are we going to show to our kids and grandkids when we grow old? We forget. We need visual and auditory help to recall when unable to. We need our music, videos and photos to remember.

Back up your data with Mozy and save 10%!

“For A Limited Time only, so hurry…”

Mozy is a simple and safe way to back up important stuff on your computer. A copy of your data is stored in a secure, remote location; in the event of disaster your data is still retrievable.

Just type in SHAREMOZY at checkout and save 10% on a MozyHome Unlimited annual or biennial subscription!

View >>

As of 8:30 pm November 26th- Thanksgiving day, this was the line at a Best Buy store in Darthmouth, MA. Some said they’ve been there since noon time (gave up on Thanksgiving dinner altogether)! Calling my sisters in Sacramento, California, they said that there were people camped out in front of the Best Buy stores early on as well.

What’s interesting with Best Buy is that they only have minimum of 5 to 10 items of each product per store as advertised yet they seem to draw campers who are willing to spend the night in the cold. Based on our experience, the ad isn’t entirely true because some stores only really have one or two items of the more popular products on sale. So by the time the store opens at 5am, there would have been 300 people in line fighting for one to 2 items of those products!! Case in point, the HDTVs and the laptops.

Why people would camp out in Best Buy stores, I could never understand.

Passing through Wal-Mart in Ashland, MA there were at least 10 people camped out by 9:30pm. You guys must realize that the stores are going to officially open at 5am the next day and people are camping out overnight some spending 17 hours outside the store– just to get the deals they want! How far would you go?

I am not sleeping tonight. I am online shopping for deals as I write this and at 3am, I am heading over to Staples to go get in line and try my luck there. Always do get most of the items that I eye for… They’ve always been great with their prices and stocks and yet no one would camp out in their stores. Works for me because I am not willing to spend the night in freezing Massachusetts weather to get my deals. I think 3 hours of wait is already ridiculous, 17 hours wait time would be unjustifiable. Then again, here I am wide awake as I watch my clock for 3am to go to Staples. At least I am warm and cozy in my PJs! My sisters are leaving at midnight to head to a Fry’s store near them in CA… Yeah, we’re all suckers for sale like that.

That’s Crazy Black Friday, day after thanksgiving sale for you! Only in the US…

Here’s what people are camping out for in Best Buy Black Friday Sale:

At Staples:

In an exciting moment captured on TV, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper presented the 2009 CNN Hero of the Year award to Efren Peñaflorida. The very emotional Peñaflorida walked on stage waving a tiny Philippine flag resting on a small wooden pushcart- as his trademark has been for bringing “pushcart classroom” in the streets of Manila, giving education to poor young kids as an alternative to gang related activities.

“Our planet is filled with heroes, young and old, rich and poor, man, woman of different colors, shapes and sizes. We are one great tapestry,” Peñaflorida’s opening lines as he began his short speech. “Each person has a hidden hero within, you just have to look inside you and search it in your heart, and be the hero to the next one in need.

“So to each and every person inside this theater and for those who are watching at home, the hero in you is waiting to be unleashed. Serve, serve well, serve others above yourself and be happy to serve. As I always tell to my co-volunteers … you are the change that you dream, as I am the change that I dream, and collectively we are the change that this world needs to be. Mabuhay (Long Live)!”

CNN’s Anderson Cooper revealed Peñaflorida’s selection at the conclusion of the third-annual “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute” at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on Saturday night.

The gala event, taped before an audience of 3,000 at the Kodak Theatre, premieres on Thanksgiving, November 26, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on the global networks of CNN.

The broadcast, which honors the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2009, features performances by Grammy Award-winning artist Carrie Underwood, R&B crooner Maxwell and British pop sensation Leona Lewis.

Peñaflorida, who will receive $100,000 to continue his work with the Dynamic Teen Company, was selected after seven weeks of online voting at CNN.com. More than 2.75 million votes were cast.

The top 10 CNN Heroes, chosen by a blue-ribbon panel from an initial pool of more than 9,000 viewer nominations, were each honored with a documentary tribute and introduced by a celebrity presenter. Each of the top 10 Heroes receives $25,000. (CNN NEWS)

Read previous article here.

Heart pounding, head racing.
It is exciting.
It is confusing.
Heck, it is nerve wracking!

I know this awful feeling.
The more I suppress, the more I feel.
The more I feel, the more I suffer.
But I wouldn’t. I couldn’t let it out.

Don’t know how long I can look
Don’t know how long I can resist
Don’t know how long I can play pretend
Until you’ll notice…

Please don’t ask me,
I won’t admit it.
Please don’t confront me,
I can’t deny it.

What is this flutter?
I know this flutter!
Foolish feelings, get over it.
Flutter, stop it!

F— I did it again.

UPDATE: A triumph for Efren and a triumph for the Philippines, he is this year’s recipient of CNN;s “hero of the Year. Watch his acceptance speech here.

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From the United States to Zimbabwe to Indonesia to the Philippines, CNN acknowledges ordinary people with extraordinary impact in its search for this year’s “Hero of the year.” Filipino Efren Peñaflorida, 28 is among the Top 10 contenders vying for the special recognition.

Efren has been making a huge difference in the lives of street kids in Manila, Philippines for the last 12 years. “Peñaflorida and his team of teen volunteers have taught basic reading and writing to children living on the streets. Their main tool: A pushcart classroom.” What he has accomplished in his young age giving back is truly remarkable if not indeed heroic.

This is sort of a last-minute plea to all readers! I just received the email from my sis in the UK and I’ve never heard of CNN’s ongoing search. To think that it started in early February! Goes to show, I am not a CNN follower.

“Since February, profiles of 2009 CNN Heroes have been airing weekly on air and online, each chosen from nominations submitted through the CNN Heroes Web site. This year, more than 9,000 nominations were received, more than twice the number of nominations submitted in 2008.”

Well, the last day of voting is tomorrow, November 19th (6 a.m. ET). Please vote for Efren Peñaflorida to become CNN’s Hero of the Year for 2009. There is no limit on the number of times you may vote.

Reading through the ‘heroic’ acts of the Top 10 honorees was truly inspiring. Any one of them deserves the title “Hero of the Year” but I am rooting for Efren of course. After Manny Pacquiao’s recent victory against Miguel Cotto in the Boxing arena, this is yet another way of putting a mark in history for Filipinos and making our presence known around the globe.

It isn’t too late to vote. I just voted 50 times over the last half an hour! To power vote, please go to this link: http://dynamicteencompany.org/powervote/

A special star-studded Heroes gala “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute,” will be seen around the world on Thanksgiving night, November 26 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on the global networks of CNN.

The telecast shines a spotlight on the extraordinary accomplishments of the Top 10 CNN Heroes, who were selected by a distinguished Blue Ribbon Panel (among them Efren P). Each of this year’s honorees will receive $25,000 in recognition of their work.

Actress Nicole Kidman and Grammy Award-winning artist Carrie Underwood are among the celebrities scheduled to appear.

Underwood, critically acclaimed R&B crooner Maxwell and three-time Grammy Award nominee Leona Lewis will each perform at the gala, which returns to the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood as the network celebrates its third year of honoring everyday people making a difference.

Kidman is scheduled to join celebrities Kate Hudson, Neil Patrick Harris, Pierce Brosnan, Dwayne Johnson, Eva Mendes, Randy Jackson, Greg Kinnear, George Lopez and Julia Louis-Dreyfus as presenters.

The show culminates with the announcement of the 2009 CNN Hero of the Year, who will receive an additional $100,000.

I have not gotten into the Twilight craze yet but the rest of my family are- and so is the rest of the world. I wasn’t particularly blown away by the first movie… maybe when I start reading the books I will get into it. My younger sis just finished reading the first three books that came from our other sis and now she’s passing them on to me.

Anyways, got an email from Cafe Press in partnership with Burger King that they are giving away some freebies to celebrate the premiere of “New Moon” this Friday November 20th. “CafePress is offering Twihards a one-of-a-kind surprise gift!” exclaims the mail.

To receive a free gift, simply visit www.newmoon.cafepress.com and enter the code CPNEWMOONGIFT2 (Got a new email code from Cafe Press.) FreeNewMoon when prompted. OR try this Burger King coupon code: BKNEWMOONGIFT.

I just got mine and I picked “Team Edward.” Will be giving the stickers to my nieces. Grab one as soon as you can, promo might not last very long…

Be warned, the site must be experiencing heavy traffic- it is too darn slow even for my high speed internet connection. Be ready to pay the $1.25 shipping (for US) as well- free isn’t all that free but it is a $12.00 item so that still is a pretty good deal especially for twihards who would pay so much to get their hands on anything Twilight…

Read the fine print: *Limit, one per order. All free sticker packs will have a shipping fee of $1.25 for all US destinations, $3 for all Canada shipping destinations and $4 for all other international shipping destinations. Certain international shipping destinations are excluded. Additional shipping charges will apply for any additional products purchased. While supplies last or until December 31st, 2009.

Enjoy.

December 1st, tried ordering another set and order went through! Just realized that this isn’t only one per household, one time. Rule says limit one PER ORDER. Doesn’t matter how many times you order as long as you pay shipping. Give some to friends now!

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Floyd Mayweather, Jr.’s (39-0 | 25 Knockouts) very much anticipated comeback to the ring up against Juan Manuel Marquez (55-4-1 | 37 Knockouts), hits MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 19th live via HBO’s Pay-per-view.

In this video, reporter Mark Kriegel discusses Juan Manuel Marquez with Floyd Mayweather Jr. Find out why the ‘Pretty Boy’ isn’t ready to think about Manny Pacquiao.

I am very surprised to see Mayweather in this interview very subdued. He’s always been portrayed as (over)confident to being cocky. I didn’t see it on this interview and even the reporter commented that Floyd seem to be building up his opponent, Marquez. It’s nice to see a fighter not ‘talk trash’ his opponent. This psychological warfare tactic is so cliche and very movie-like anyway. What a good interview! Floyd has such respect for Marquez. Floyd is hinting very much of a possible Pacquiao-Mayweather fight if the “price” is right and HBO picks it up.

Below is an earlier video announcing the fight in May atop the Empire State Building in New York. Floyd ‘handpicked’ Juan Manuel as his opponent for his comeback fight. They were going to fight last July but it was postponed due to a rib injury Mayweather received during training. Manny Pacquiao’s name comes up again.

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I’m not a huge Boxing follower but when Manny Pacquiao is on, I am sure to watch every fight. I am from General Santos City, Philippines and so is Pacquiao so I can’t help but be a fan. Mind you, only when he is in the ring fighting. What he does outside I am not so sure about– his mad ideas going into acting, heck singing and say that again? Politics?!! C’mmon! Manny Pacquiao needs better advisers not people who take advantage of his popularity and money.

Of late I have become curious of Juan Manuel Marquez ever since that rematch fight he lost with Manny Pacquiao in March 2008. I still hope somehow someday in whatever weight class, Manny and Juan Manuel will encore that rematch! That fight was so very close, it wasn’t truly and fully Manny’s to claim.

I had a chance to meet Juan Manuel Marquez up close in his surprised visit to the Philippines in April 6th during the star-studded ABS-CBN produced Boxing fight: “INVASION, Philippines vs. the World at the Araneta Coliseum. (A month after his fight with Manny, there are still visible marks on his face from that bout.)

Thanks to our dear friends, sisters Sunshine Pestaño and Goody Peñalosa- wife of another great Philippine boxer, Gerry Peñalosa, we were part of the “Team Penalosa” that day! One of the best experiences of my life! Thanks very much to them! I still have to make a full article of that happening and it’s been over a year old. Procrastination at work…

with Entrepreneur Goody Llido-Penalosa

Juan Manuel Marquez is such a reserved, shy guy. Uber friendly and accommodating- always there for the camera and to whoever wants a photo with him! No air of arrogance at all. To those who hates his guts for wanting to fight Manny again, I really think Manny owes it to the Boxing fans and to himself. Going back to the whole fight, nobody expected Manny to win that- At best, people expected a draw or a Juan Manuel win but Manny edged it by a hair. You could see on the tape, Manny was even partially surprised he was announced the winner! We can’t blame Juan Manuel if he wants to finish off the business with Manny.

Moving forward to the present, Juan Manuel is facing a tough opponent in Floyd Mayweather, Jr. come September 19. I am rooting for Juan Manuel of course! Fingers crossed. Good luck, Juan Manuel! Hope our paths cross again.

with my BFF and Tatay Pepe’s Restobar Co-owner, Jaz Descalzo