Brain Contour

Bay Landing Hotel at the Bayshore Area in San Francisco exudes comfort more than what meets the eye. In my last trip to San Francisco, around mid-December, I was expecting the hotel prices to sky rocket due to the holiday season craze. San Francisco is one of the U.S. busiest cities — tourists and locals flock the metropolis for its shopping centers and favorably warm weather. The busier the city is, the pricier the hotels become.

But not with Bay Landing Hotel. The price of the room per night was only $69, without the necessary tax. While most of the hotels I searched online were priced at more than $100 a night, Bay Landing Hotel was listed as one of the cheapest hotels near the airport and close to the downtown area.

What was CNN National correspondent, Susan Candiotti, thinking today while reporting live at the protest in NY by 9/11 families who are against terrorist trials?

I was watching CNN around 11 A.M. central time, Saturday, when the news segment about the protest came. Susan Candiotti was with the protesters, covering the event on the field. When Candiotti went live on TV, it was the U.S. National Anthem that was played on the background with protesters around her standing still. What the news reporter, Candiotti, did next was totally beyond incomprehensible. She tapped one of the protesters (later named Geraldine Davie) on the shoulder and then began saying she was sorry for disrupting her in the middle of the anthem. WTF!

While the anthem was played, and while everyone surrounding her was showing the level of respect the National Anthem deserves, Susan Candiotti acted disrespectfully by starting the interview right then. The anthem that’s supposed to represent the United States of America was disrespected by a veteran reporter!

Yes, the Philippines has been manually counting election ballots all this time! But this coming 2010 national elections, the Filipinos will be introduced to the Automated Election Machine. For years, automating the election has been the topic of debates among lawmakers. There were many concerns thrown at each side, like questioning the reliability of the counting machines.

After many heated arguments, a bill was passed — Senate Bill No. 2231 (13th Congress) entitled:

The recent Maguindanao Massacre in the Philippines claimed 30 people from the media alone. These men were brutally killed last Monday November 23, while doing their jobs as active journalists on the field.

I salute these men and women and my heart goes to the families left behind.

1. Adolfo, Benjie, Gold Star Daily, Koronadal City

2. Araneta, Henry, Radio DZRH, General Santos City

3. Arriola, Mark Gilbert “Mac-Mac,” UNTV, General Santos City

Step aside Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, Sen. Manuel Villar, former President Joseph Estrada, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, and any other known presidential aspirants for the May 2010 Elections. We need to know the other presidential hopefuls whose aspiration is to become famous, I mean, to become the 15th president of the Philippines.

Who among them will succeed Pres. Maria Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo? Check out the list below, as these people have already filed their certificates of candidacy (COCs). From a masseuse, to a taxi driver, to a computer programmer — who says the highest position of the land is only for the rich and famous?

Not the Philippines — thank God! According to the latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), the Philippines, in fact, improved slightly, moving 2 places up from 141 last year to 139 this 2009. But still this is seen as way down below the ranks when compared to other Asia-Pacific countries. Among the 32 countries/territories in the region, the Philippines ranks 24th, with a score of 2.4 out of 10. The lower the score, the more it reflects perceptions of rampant corruption. The country is still lagging behind Singapore (no. 2 in the region), Brunei (7), Malaysia (11), Thailand (14), Vietnam (22), and Indonesia (19). Singapore is also ranked the no. 3 least corrupt country in the world.

Globally, among 180 countries surveyed, the top 10 most corrupt countries in the world based from the Corruption Perceptions Index 2009 are:

So what if Pres. Obama bows to Japanese Emperor Akihito during their first meeting?  What’s the big deal America? Obama is showing a sign of U.S. weakness — is a very silly reasoning! What about Bill Clinton who bowed to Emperor Akihito in 1994?

Shhh, Obama told me he did it for respect of the Emperor and a gesture of diplomacy. So shut up Obama haters!

Video: Barack Obama bows to Japan’s Emperor Akihito

I always make it a point to donate my old (and sometimes new) clothes to the Goodwill store. Goodwill is a thrift shop with a collection of all things used and cheap. Goodwill Store in Brookings, SD is located beside the Dollar store.

I have this vanity for clothes. Whenever I go shopping, which happens very often, I never fail to buy a shirt or two. And that must be paired with new jeans or pants. Just a couple of weeks ago, I spent too much on winter clothes that sometimes I think it is excessive. But I never regret buying things for myself. If, for some reasons, I decide not to wear them anymore, I always share them to the needy. The two bags I donated today at the Goodwill store included T-shirts, sweat shirts, long and short pants, and even new coats that I bought 2 months ago but were unused.