Inaguration! :)

Originally, we WERE going to go to actual inaguration in DC on Tuesday, but as I got sick and we all woke up late and it was really really cold outside, we just stayed home and watched it on our tiny TV instead :)

Yes, we really were at the Capital building when it all happened!
See? I WAS in the crowd!

OBAMA! OBAMA! OBAMA!

There, Alex! I wore my penguin slippers to the Inaguration! I just forgot my sushi socks....

O yea...

No, we are not over-enthusiastic or silly at all!

Yes We Can!

Yes We Can, and We Did

First African-American President in the history of our great nation.

Just like many of you will stay up late to watch your football game, last night I stayed up late to watch the election. Only got 5 hours of sleep.

It was well worth it.

In the beginning it was boring because most states hadn't closed yet, so we watched an episode of House while waiting ;-P

Then we go back to the news. States going red and blue right and left.

We watched as the north went blue and the south went red. We watched as Texas went red and California blue. We saw Florida and New Mexico turn blue. We cheered as Virginia went blue, for the first time in history since Lyndon B Johnson.

We saw Senator McCain make his congressional speech in Arizona. The best speech he's made all campaign.

And then we waited.

For the announcement.

Barrack Obama became the President-Elect of the USA.

We heard the cheers in DC. Saw the crowd outside the White House. Felt the rally in Chicago. Saw the tears streaming from almost every African-American's eyes. Saw the shining faces of the young voters screaming "YES WE CAN!"

We saw Mr.Obama walk out on the platform, hand-in-hand with his daughter, his wife and other daughter by his side.

Felt every word of the great man's speech and was brought to a feeling that "Yes! We can succeed! Our country is not lost!"

For the first time in a long time, I felt proud to be American. To have witnessed such a historical event.

I wore my flag pin to school today with my head held high and pride swelling my chest.

I will not be ashamed. I will not be afraid.

Together, we can succeed.

And there's nothing you do can stop us.

This....is.....

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!!!!!!

CBOX!

Ok, people! I've had ENOUGH of people just typing random stuff in the CBOX! If you don't have anything to say to me personally or about the blog, then DON'T WRITE ANYTHING! I'm sure I'm not the only one who doesn't appreciate spam!

So either say something relevant, or GET OUT!

BLOG AGAINST HATE

Dear friends....

It has come to my attention that certain blogs have been target of hate comments and I feel the attacks on bloggers are on the increase. I can document them if you wish but I sense this sentiment is a growing concern amongst bloggers, including myself. I think it is time that we... bloggers put a stop or at least come out with our views on this type of internet bullying or best educate them the best way to appreciate our blogs.. Most of the commentors are anonymous or come under guise names. It is not that we are afraid of bad comments or criticism. However, some commentors used the opportunity of being anonymous by doing personal attacks on the bloggers themselves.

I personally have no problem with readers exchanging views on certain issues and topics but personal attacks are not exactly the kind of material that we all are looking for. I mean bloggers have dedicate their time in sharing the posts/stories and photos. If readers are not happy with our blogs or the way we write.. that is fine but I see that most of us bloggers are responsible in what we write. My only concern is that some readers are using their anonymous status to 'stab in the dark'. This is non ethical to me.

So, with this button on your blog.. it signify that as bloggers, we do not tolerate such behaviour and hopefully educate readers that they are welcome to read and make comments. If there is any issue that they want to raise personally. ..it is better to meet in person rather than having a shot in the dark. If they do not favour such blogs.. there are other 250 blogs or millions globally for them to blog hop.

Cheers and God bless..

Pablo

P.S. if you think this is a worthy cause, please forward to your bloggers friends to join this campaign.

E-mail Courtesy and Safety

Ok, I am getting SICK and TIRED of recieving forwarded letters where you need to scroll through 52billion pages just to get to the letter part! It's time people learned some email courtesy:

1. When sending warnings about emails containing viruses going around, make sure your facts are correct first! To check if a virus warning is true, a good site to use is http://www.snopes.com
2. Always always ALWAYS copy and paste emails so you don't have to open 52billion attachments to get the message!
3. Erase email addresses of previous senders or you might end up getting emails from people you don't know! Most of you don't really care about this part, what with Myspace and stuff these days, but it is seriously important! You don't realise how many hackers and stalkers there are out there.....outside of Brunei, that is.
4. Check with anti-virus software before opening emails.
   
   Thank you for listening, and hopefully you will actually use these tips before you send someone another email....

Warning-This Means You!

On the front cover of the Borneo Bulletin this morning, as you may or may not have seen, was an article stating that Brunei had been put on a watchlist for pirated DVDs and CDs. As 99% of music and 90-95% of movies currently sold in Brunei are illegal copies, this is going to be extremely hard for certain members of the audience to break the habit.

Why should you care? Well, how would you feel if people took your work that you spend time, effort, and lots of money on and didn't pay or let you know somehow they had it? And then sold YOUR WORK WITHOUT YOU KNOWING for their personal benefit? You'd be pretty mad, wouldn't you?

When you discover a new website that lets you download songs or software for free, you jump at the chance, don't you? I mean, why should you pay if you can get it for free, right? WRONG. Hey, I may sound like I'm repeating myself, but this is seriously important! There are severe penalties for piracy in the US and other countries. And, now, guess what? The US is intervening! Hm...I wonder what that means....

Brunei is on this watchlist, and it is a seriously high criminal priority to be watched. You want fortune? Find some other way besides piracy. You want songs? Buy them from a legal source.

Remeber, put yourself in the artists' shoes before you load another free song.

The Hour Of The Earth

Close your eyes and take a minute to think: what would life be like without electric light bulbs? How would my evening change?

Now, I want you to picture a world without electric lights. What would a satelite picture taken on a Saturday evening look like?

For one hour, this Saturday evening at 8 o' clock (March 29) just turn off all your lights. Untill 9:00. Just to try to help decrease Global Warming.

Imagine the Difference.

For more information, visit http://www.earthhour.org/ .

Wake Up and Smell the "Roses"....

Why do people commit suicide?

Why do people cut themselves?

Why do girls become annorexic and bulimic?

Why do kids bring guns to school?

Why do kids get so depressed they start abusing meds?

Why do some girls feel the need to act like sluts to impress guys?

Why can't people show their sexuality freely, without worrying about being judged?

Why are we afraid to speak up for ourselves?

Why do people talk behind others backs and not to their faces?

Why can't we all just accept people for who they are?

We live in a world where if you're not skinny, not beautiful, not sexy, not straight...you're TORTURED, ABUSED, and HUMILIATED. We say that we are all EQUAL but there is still racism, sexism, and people judging other people based on their religion, color, size, heritage, ETC.

Are these the nations we live in and fight wars to support?

I AM SICK OF IT!

Stereotypes, and everything else! I want to live in a GOOD place, WITHOUT suicide, rape, murder, and JUDGEMENT!

I hope this made you think a little....

We try to save the poor, but we have these problems too.

Everything concerns YOU.

Your life isn't meaningless.

Actions speak louder than words, but words can do something too.

I'm trying to do my part; are you?

Don't Be Blue If Your Heart Is Cruel

Are you still complaining?

Observe around you and be thankful for all that you have in this transitory lifetime...

We are fortunate, we have much more than we need to be content.

Let's try not to feed this endless cycle of consumerism and immortality in which this "modern and advanced" society forgets and ignores the other two thirds of our brothers and sisters.

Let us complain less and give more!

Blood Diamond

No, this is not going to be a movie review. I haven't seen the movie (yet). This is a real life situation. Real people, real diamonds, real fear. No, the diamonds aren't red. They look normal. It's what's behind them that counts.

They say diamonds are a girl's best friend. Are these?

Blood diamonds are illegally mined diamonds. The money made from these diamonds goes towards paying for wars. Pays for weapons to invade villages, kill civilians, and train children to become child soldiers. The largest sources of blood diamonds are certain countries in Africa, such as Sierra Leone, Liberia, Angola, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Republic of Congo.

Besides being used to pay for weapons, these diamond mines (and the diamonds smuggled out of them) are not legally registered. They opperate in "secret", and the mine owners use physical abuse against their employees. Probably also use child labor.

So, if you ever buy a diamond, watch where it comes from. Is it from a conflict source? Was it legally mined? Some people don't care about whether you get things legally or not. You should start caring.

Watch what you buy. Make a difference.

In 2003, several countries from across the globe gathered in Kimberly, South Africa to try to solve this problem of illegal diamonds. The created a document known as the Kimberly Process, which states that diamonds can only be bought and sold by and from countries that have signed this process. All diamonds mined must be regestered and given a serial number, which is put on an international register. This number is laser cut into the diamond, marking it as a "conflict-free" diamond. All diamonds on the market are chemically tested to ensure that they have not come from a conflict source.

Want to learn more? The internet is a good way to find out.