Tell Me About The PICTURE:

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May 21: A Day to Remember

I woke up early to prepare myself on this day activities. I took a very cold bath and thought of what life ahead while savoring the cold water running through my body. It was going to be excruciating I thought.

This was my first stop. I was supposed to register as voter and citizen of the Philippines for the first time. However, when I arrived at the place the registration was temporarily disabled. To my disgust, I took a picture of a serene Davao Gulf and trees within the perimeter and found calmness in me. This what nature has taught "life is not all about being happy, sometimes you have to feel disappointments to be better". I left the site then with a lesson to learn.

On my way to the next stop, I trailed the China town along Uyanguren St. It was busy as it has been always.

On my way still, I saw this wreck building under construction. I was bothered by its appearance as it appeared totally loose and unsteady. It reminds me of the date May 21, 2009 as it has significant mark on my being unstable.









As I reach the next stop, I caught hundreds of mall walkers waiting for entry. I was one of them since I decided to just stay for awhile there since the weather was totally warm. The heat was invasive to my body and I felt that I got easily exhausted.

When the mall has opened, I went to look for what I was looking. I got one! I also took a picture of the wonderful persons who have shown good customer service. They served the people with the integrity and mandate of the service they represent. I felt that they have really shown greatest concern for their customer. Thanks for being professional, courteous and helpful to me.



The Slipper

This slipper that I bought marks the date of being a regular employee of the Ayala Group of Companies, the date I was accepted in law school in Ateneo de Davao Unviersity, the day when all my dreams are coming true. I just hope that this slipper will help me through all the challenging walks that I will have to do in the next journey to life.

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Nanay Dionisia

The most popular mother in the Philippines today is probably Pambansang Kamao Manny Pacquiao’s very own Aling Dionisia. We've known her as the religious devout who prayed incessantly during her son’s fights. And now, meet the new glitzy Aling Dionisia --- she’s stylish and is very much into ballroom dancing! Her glam is definitely a scene-stealer especially when she flew to America for the first time, to support her son’s fight. No doubt, Aling Dionisia , like her son, has become an international sensation!Last May 15, 2009, Mother Dionisia, celebrated her 60th birthday and the World Boxing Champion assured her the grandest celebration that she deserved. The party was held tonight the Phela Grande Convention Center and no less than former Philippine First Lady Imelda Marcos was there, being Mommy Dionisia’s idol when she was just a struggling young mother trying hard to make both ends meet in her small shanty in Labangal, General Santos City.

If everyone's life story follows the plot of Nanay Dionisia's Life. What life would be like for filipinos? Would it be a glamorous birthday party, a 30,000 gowns, a 300,000 rolex watch, a world's sensational boxer, or a mother who suffered the trail of life and finally tasted the fruits of her faith, love and labor.

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Movies About Alzheimer's Disease: Fame and Memory

Have you ever wonder why we sometimes reminisce memories of the past even though it was horrible? Have you ever thought of losing your memory? For God sake, don not ever think of it again. I dread that losing one's memory is not a disease of forgetting nor a cure for misery, it is a curse, dreadful and more miserable than a life lived challenged.

Memory is our mental ability to store, retain and recall information. It is through it that we are able to recognize everything around us with the aid of the other equally important senses of our body. What is so amazing about our memory is that it is able to store selected important events of our life. These events often makes us the way we wanted ourselves to be and the way we wanted others to remember us, love us and criticize us. Memory helps us in all aspects of our lives.

Here is a list of few famous movies depicting life and the role of memory. Share your most favorite movie/s as well so that I can remember you through that movie/s.

U, Me Aur Hum
Love does not end after the first moments of romance have been savored. But to live a life of love with your spouse, every moment after marriage has to be savored. That's where the true test of love lies and that's what Ajay Devgan delivers in his directorial debut, U ME AUR HUM. A superb effort from the actor.

Away From Her (2007)

In Away From Her, Julie Christie was Oscar-nominated for Best Actress for her portrayal of Fiona, a woman with Alzheimer's who voluntarily enters a long-term care facility to avoid being a burden on Grant, her husband of 50 years. After a 30-day separation (recommended by the facility), Grant visits Fiona and finds that her memory of him has deteriorated and that she's developed a close friendship with another man in the facility. Grant must draw upon the pure love and respect he has for Fiona to choose what will ensure his wife's happiness in the face of the disease. Christie won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama) for her performance in this movie.

The Notebook
Based on Nicholas Sparks' best-selling novel of the same name, The Notebook features James Garner as Noah, the loving husband of Allie (Gena Rowlands), who is in a nursing home due to Alzheimer's disease. He attempts to rekindle her memories of their long history by reading to her from his notebook. Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams play the couple in their younger years. Described as a true romance, the movie was directed by Nick Cassavetes, son of Gena Rowlands.


A Moment to Remember
A movie crafted of surprises and segmented by artistry of Korean film culture reveals beauty of life and love.

The movie follows a theme of discovery in a relationship and the burdens of loss caused by Alzheimer's disease.

This I personally recommend.

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What Fame Can Give?: The Irony and Misfortune

What Fame Can Do When You Are Homeless?

Here is the News Headline:

MUMBAI (Reuters) - City authorities in Mumbai demolished the shanty home of a "Slumdog Millionaire" child star on Thursday, forcing his family into the streets months after the Oscar-winning film shot him to global fame.How ironic that the life of a famous child is shattered by what he had portrayed in his famous film Slumdog Millionaire. Azharuddin Ismail, 9, played the character of Salim as a child in the film, a rags-to-riches romance about a poor Indian boy competing for love and money on a television game show. In real life, the boy is still competing for fortune eventhough he has given honor and glory to his country and to the film's acclamation.

I think the greatest lesson that Slumdog Millionaire cast, producers, directors and all others who comprised its success must learn is to learn its own lesson. Film is not just about art, not just about the lesson to learn, but live the lesson it conveys. I know that there is no easy way to get out from poverty, and competing for fortune is not all the answer to the boy's misfortune. They are themselves part of the boy's answer to his questions.

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The Famous and Expensive Cars

It is hard to imagine someone would actually spend 28 million dollars on a car instead of using it for something more productive. Why not spend 28 million dollars on tree planting activities and help save the world? Well, it is not my business I am just bothered. Here is the new record, indeed the most expensive and the world's most famous cars. There are other which are not listed. So its up to you to insert it on my list.

Ferrari 250 GTO

The most expensive car in the world is one of the few Ferrari 250 GTOs built to secure homologation for the FIA's GT category. Only 39 of the cars were ever built, and their rarity and desirability has long been high - just not £15.7 million ($28.7 million) high. Most car experts believe that indeed Ferrari 250 GTO top amongst many desirable cars.

Another Ferrari was the former record holder and now now-second-most-expensive car in the world. The 1961 Ferrari California Spyder claimed a bid of £5.4 million in May, just over one-third the cost of the 250 GTO. Ferrari released an all-new California last Friday, expanding its lineup to four cars and adding even more draw to its already world-famous brand.
Bugatti Veyron ($ 1,700,000.00)
This is by far the most expensive street legal car available on the market today. It is the fastest accelerating car reaching 0-60 in 2.5 seconds. It claims to be the fastest car with a top speed of 253 mph+. However, the title for the fastest car goes to the SSC Ultimate Aero which exceed 253 mph pushing this car to 2nd place for the fastest car.
Pagani Zonda
Pagani Zonda C12 F $667,321 Produced by a small independent company in Italy, the Pagani Zonda C12 F is the 8th fastest car in the world. It promises to delivery a top speed of 215 mph+ and it an reach 0-60 in 3.5 seconds.

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Chocolate that Cost Your Fortune

Forgive me guys, especially those who love their average chocolate because what I got here for you is the one and only Knipschildt Chocolate "Chocopologie". I never tried it myself but its the best in the world wide market. What makes it the best? It is just the world's most famous chocolate, not only that it holds the record of being the most expensive but it also holds acclamations and honor amongst many famous personalities and award giving bodies.

Mr. Fritz Knipschildt

I clearly remember when I walked into my first job in the restaurant business. I had just turned 13 and my sister was sick, so I filled in for her as a dishwasher at a local restaurant.It was a small kitchen full of chefs, a lot of noise, and steam everywhere. I guess I fell in love with all the activity and excitement. The owner was french and had four restaurants – The Plaza Hotel, Marie Louise, and 2 other excellent places; all with very disciplined kitchens and a truly “old school” approach.

In a short amount of time, I quickly advanced and with the opening of a new restaurant in the north of Copenhagen, I was incharge of the bistro kitchen. This was before I had even attended Chef school. After that I worked for another French gentleman at a small 30 seat restaurant called Le Provence. I finally went to hotel and restaurant school for 4 1/2 years in Denmark where I was born and raised.

After just a month of training at Hotel & amp; Restaurant School, I was selected to represent my town in the Danish championship for young Chefs. It was a great experience to compete against the best young Chefs across Denmark. After finishing school, I had the opportunity to work in the beautiful Mont Blanc area of France twice and also in southern Spain.

I would have to say that my love of food started at a young age. I was very fortunate to have parents that took my sisters and I on many trips throughout Europe where we were exposed to all different types of food at a very early age. My parents loved food and to travel. My father's side of the family are all artists and my mother's side of the family are all entrepreneurs. I guess a little bit of both rubbed off on me as I'm creative with food, but also interested in business.

By now, I was flourishing in the restaurant industry and at the same time, the chocolate industry was going through a radical transformation. We had access to the best raw chocolate and incredibly fresh ingredients. This was heaven for a young creative chef and I absorbed it all. With my background in the savory kitchen, I loved to experiment with sweet & savory flavors and I continued to do so with chocolate.

At that time, I moved to the USA as a private chef cooking for the rich and famous. After which I was sponsored by a french restaurant in New York. People were truly stunned when they tasted the infusions of chocolate and spices. They thought I was crazy, but as they tasted the chocolates, they soon realized that these combinations were true matches in heaven. It felt good to be a pioneer in the modern chocolate making and bring new spicy sweet experiences to people.

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Famous Diamonds

2009
A flawless vivid blue diamond weighing 7.03 carats, sold for a record high of 10.5 million Swiss francs ($9.49 million), the highest price paid per carat for any gemstone at auction. The rectangular-shaped blue stone, the rarest to enter the international market for the year 2009, went to an anonymous buyer bidding by telephone after hectic bidding see-sawed between two callers for 15 minutes.

It was the centrepiece of its semi-annual sale in Geneva, conducted by David Bennett, chairman of Sotheby's jewelry department in Europe and the Middle East, who said the results showed the market's resilience despite the economic downturn.

"This is already a new world record price for a fancy vivid blue diamond and a new world record per carat for any gemstone (at auction)," Bennett told reporters.


2007
One of the rarest gems in the world, a flawless blue diamond, has sold for US$7.98 million (3.91 million pounds) at a Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong, making it the most expensive gemstone in the world, per carat, sold at auction.

After intense bidding, the 6.04 carat, internally flawless blue diamond fetched $HK61.9 million (3.91 million pounds), or US$1.32 million per carat. The price smashed a 20-year-old record held by the "Hancock Red" -- a red diamond, which fetched US$926,000 per carat at the time, Sotheby's said.

Sotheby's said the buyer was "Moussaieff Jewellers" in London which has a reputation for acquiring extremely rare and costly gemstones. The seller was a private Asian collector.

Hope Diamond
The Hope Diamond is a large, 45.52 carats (9.10 g), fancy deep blue diamond, currently housed in the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington, D.C. The Hope Diamond is blue to the naked eye because of trace amounts of boron within its crystal structure, but it exhibits red phosphorescence under ultraviolet light^.Type IIb diamond, and is famous for supposedly being cursed. It is classified as a

List of the World's Most Famous Diamonds

1. The Akbar Shah, an Indian diamond with a roughly pear-shaped outline and random faceting, including two Arabic inscriptions, the first reading "Shah Akbar, the Shah of the World, 1028 A.H." (the letters mean "After Hegira", the first year of the Muslim era, A.D. 622. The second inscription read "To the Lord of Two Worlds, 1039 A.H. Shah Jehan". The diamond was reportedly part of the original Peacock Throne. Purchased in 1886 in Constantinople by London merchant George Blogg, who recut it from 116 carats to a pear-shape of 71.70 carats, thus destroying the historic inscriptions. Blogg was the last known owner and the stone's whereabouts are presently unknown.
2. The Allnatt Diamond, a large antique cushion-shaped brilliant Fancy Vivid Yellow diamond.
3. The Agra Diamond, antique cushion-shaped stellar brilliant, 28 carats.
4. The Amsterdam Diamond, a 33.74 carat (6.748 g) pear-shaped black diamond which sold for $352,000 in 2001.
5. The Archduke Joseph Diamond, antique cushion-shaped brilliant, originally weighing 78.54 carats, purchased by Molina Jewelers of Arizona sometime in the late-1990s and slightly recut to 76.45 carats to improve clarity and symmetry. D color, Internally Flawless.
6. The Ashberg Diamond
7. The Aurora Butterfly of Peace
8. The Aurora Pyramid of Hope
9. The Beau Sancy, a 34-carat diamond not to be confused with the Sancy.
10. The Black Orlov, a 67.50 carat cushion-cut black diamond, also called the Eye of Brahma Diamond.
11. The Blue Heart Diamond, 30.82-carat heart brilliant. Part of the Smithsonian collection.
12. The Briolette of India Diamond, 90 carats.
13. The Centenary Diamond, modified heart-shaped brilliant, the world's largest colorless (grade D), flawless diamond.
14. The Chloe Diamond, largest round brilliant-cut diamond ever put on auction. Sold on November 14th, 2007 at Sotheby's in Geneva to Georges Marciano of the Guess clothing line for $16.2 million, the second-highest price ever paid for a diamond on auction. Took 2 years to cut.
15. The Cross of Asia, discovered in 1902 in South Africa as a 280-carat crystal. At first diamond was cut to 142 carats, and next the cut was three times changed to 112 carats, a cushion-cut of 109.28 carats (the weight Lawrence Copeland's "Diamonds - Famous, Notable and Unique" lists it at) measuring 1⅛ × ⅞ × ⅝ inches, and finally into a radiant-cut gem of 79.12 carats to elimination all flaws. It is Fancy Yellow and Internally Flawless.^[1]
16. The Cullinan Diamond, the largest rough gem-quality diamond ever found at 3106.75 carats (621.35 g). It was cut into 105 diamonds including the Cullinan I or the Great Star of Africa, 530.2 carats (106.04 g), and the Cullinan II or the Lesser Star of Africa, 317.4 carats (63.48 g), both of which are now part of the British Crown Jewels.
17. The Darya-ye Noor Diamond, the largest pink diamond in the world, about 186 carats (36.4 g), part of Iranian Crown Jewels. Its exact weight isn't known and 186 carats is an estimate.
18. The Deepdene, widely considered to be the largest artificially irradiated diamond in the world.
19. The De Young Red Diamond, the third-largest known red diamond was bought in a flea market on a hatpin by Sidney deYoung a prominent Boston estate jewelry merchant. It was donated by him to the museum of natural history.
20. The Dresden Green Diamond, antique pear-shaped brilliant - its color is the result of natural irradiation
21. The Dresden White Diamond, 47-carat antique oval brilliant, colorless/near-colorless
22. The Dresden Yellow Diamond, an antique round cut weighing 38 carats
23. The Earth Star Diamond a 111.59-carat, pear-shaped diamond with a strong coffee-like brown color.
24. The Empress Eugenie Diamond, 52-carat antique pear-shaped brilliant with an odd, random facet pattern
25. The Excelsior Diamond, the largest known diamond in the world prior to the Cullinan
26. The Florentine Diamond, a lost diamond, light yellow with a weight of 137.27 carats (27.45 g).
27. The Golden Jubilee Diamond, the largest faceted diamond ever cut at 545.67 carats (109.13 g)
28. The Graff Blue Diamond
29. The Great Chrysanthemum Diamond
30. The Great Mogul Diamond, fabled 280-carat mogul-cut diamond, now lost, although presumed by historians to have been recut as the Orlov.
31. The Gruosi Diamond, a heart-shaped black diamond, weighing 115.34 carats.
32. The Heart of Eternity Diamond, perhaps the largest Fancy Vivid Blue
33. The Hope Diamond, Fancy Dark Grayish-Blue and supposedly cursed. Almost certainly cut from the French Blue Diamond
34. The Hortensia Diamond, peach color, formerly part of the French Crown Jewels. Displayed in the Louvre.
35. The Idol's Eye
36. The Incomparable Diamond, a brownish-yellow diamond of 407.48 carats (81.496 g) cut from an 890 carat (178 g) rough diamond of the same name - it appeared on eBay in 2002. Internally Flawless clarity.
37. The Jacob Diamond weighing 184.5 carats (36.90 g), also known as Imperial Diamond & Victoria Diamond.
38. The Jones Diamond

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Boracay

Boracay is a tropical island located approximately 315km (200 miles) south of Manila and 2km off the northwest tip of the island of Panay in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. It is one of the country's most popular tourist destinations. The island comprises the barangays of Manoc-Manoc, Balabag, and Yapak (3 of the 17 barangays which make up the municipality of Malay), and is under the administrative control of the Philippine Tourism Authority in coordination with the Provincial Government of Aklan.

The island was originally home to the Ati tribe. Boracay is part of Aklan Province, which became an independent province on April 25, 1956.^[2] Formerly undiscovered, it wasn't till the 1970s that tourism began to develop in Boracay,^[3] and the island became popular with backpackers in the 1980s.^[2]

Years ago, Boracay Island was a well-guarded secret, almost possessively so that only a few knew of its existence.

It was only in the 70s when, it is said, a foreign movie crew accidentally "discovered" this island paradise. Others maintain that it was the German traveler, 'Jens Peters' book, which included rave reviews of Boracay that changed the island’s pace from that of being a quiet secret to eventually being voted as having the best beach in the world.

Whichever story is true, it was around this time that Boracay Island slowly ceased to be a private travelers hangout and eventually became a favorite tourist destination in the Philippines. In a span of a mere 10 years, the whole world, it seemed, discovered Boracay and the once, nearly deserted stretch of beach became a teeming vacation and leisure spot for upscale tourists from all parts of the world.

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Manny Pacquiao Biography

Emmanuel Dapigran Pacquiao, (born December 17, 1978 in Kibawe, Bukidnon, Mindanao, Philippines) is a Filipino professional boxer and reigning WBC International Super Featherweight champion. He is a former world champion at IBF Super Bantamweight, and WBC Flyweight divisions. Pacquiao has a record of 44 wins, 3 losses, and 2 draws, with 35 wins coming by way of knockout.[citation needed] His brother, Bobby Pacquiao is also a Super Featherweight boxer.

Pacquiao ran for a congressional seat to represent the 1st district of South Cotabato, but he was defeated by Darlene Antonino-Custodio. Custodio had 139,061 votes while Pacquiao received 75,908 votes.

In September 2007, he signed up with GMA Network as an artist.

Biography

Early career
Pacquiao started his professional boxing career in 1995 at 106 pounds at the age of 16. His early fights usually took place in small venues and were shown on Vintage Sports' Blow by Blow evening boxing show (hosted by John Ray Betita). His first professional fight was a four-round bout against Edmund Ignacio on January 22, 1995, which Pacquiao won via decision, thus becoming an instant star of the program.

His weight increased from 106 to 113 pounds before losing in his 12th bout against Rustico Torrecampo via a third round technical knockout (TKO). As well-known sportscaster Joaquin "Quinito" Henson observed, Pacquiao clearly had not made weight, so he was forced to use heavier gloves than Torrecampo, thereby putting Pacquiao at a disadvantage.

Shortly after the Torrecampo fight, Pacquiao settled at 112 pounds, winning the WBC Flyweight title over Chatchai Sasakul in the eighth round only to lose it in his second defense against Medgoen Singsurat, or Medgoen 3K Battery, via a third round knockout on a bout held at Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand. Technically, Pacquiao lost the belt at the scales by surpassing the required weight of 112 lb (51 kg).

Following his loss to Singsurat, Pacquiao gained weight anew, this time stopping at the super bantamweight division of 122 lb (55 kg) where he picked up the WBC International Super Bantamweight title, defending it five times before his next world title fight came.

Pacquiao’s big break came on June 23, 2001, against IBF Super Bantamweight champion Lehlohonolo Ledwaba. Pacquiao stepped into the fight as a late replacement and walked out of the fight as the newly crowned IBF Super Bantamweight champion on a bout held at MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada.


Pacquiao's rise
Pacquiao went on to defend his title four times before the match that many consider to have defined his career, against the Mexican boxing idol, Marco Antonio Barrera of Mexico. Pacquiao, moving up in weight and in his first fight ever in the featherweight division brought his power with him and defeated Barrera via a TKO in the 11th round at the Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas.

Only six months removed from his win over Barrera, Pacquiao went on to challenge another respected Mexican counter puncher, Juan Manuel Márquez, holder of the World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) Featherweight titles. The fight held at the MGM Grand ended in a controversial draw after he knocked down Márquez three times on the first round, but lost most of the latter rounds. One of the judges later admitted to making an error in the scorecards, as he scored the first round as a "10-7" in favor of Pacquiao instead of the standard "10-6" for a three knockdown round. Had Marquez not had the extra point, Pacquiao would have won by split decision. It was probably the most hated decision done by the WBA and IBF for the Filipino boxer.

In a bout held at Taguig City, Philippines, Pacquiao fought against Fahsan (2K-Gas Battery) Por Thawatchai. Pacquiao sent Por Thawchwai to the canvas three times en route to a knockout in the fourth round. A left uppercut to the jaw knocked down the Thai fighter that lifted his feet off the canvas and ended the fight.

Pacquiao once again moved up another division from 126 to 130 pounds in order to fight another Mexican fighter, three-time division champion Erik Morales on March 19, 2005 at the MGM Grand. However this time around at his first fight in the superfeatherweight division, Pacquiao lost the 12 round match by a unanimous decision from the judges.

On September 10, 2005, Manny Pacquiao knocked out Hector Velasquez, capturing the WBC International Super Featherweight title in the process on a fight held at Staples Center, Los Angeles, California.

Pacquiao defeated Erik Morales by TKO in a much-anticipated rematch on January 21, 2006 in Las Vegas at Thomas and Mack Center.


Newfound fame
After the Morales bout, Pacquiao was in the limelight again during the first week of February 2006 when a waitress working in a Manila night club claimed that he was the father of her son, born out of a whirlwind affair with the boxer. The boxer was not giving her child financial support, prompting her to sue Pacquiao and demanding $250,000.00 (P5,159,958) in child support.

On March 21 Pacquiao was sent to the hospital due to stomach problems, brought about by his bar-hopping, womanizing, various product endorsements, and billiards playing (Pacquiao even qualified in the final stages of Philippine 9-ball Open). Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach had commented earlier about his concerns of Pacquiao's late night lifestyle and warned that the boxer is in danger of losing both his edge and his focus. Roach noted that there are too many distractions surrounding Pacquiao in the Philippines, including sponsorship deals, personal appearances, nocturnal activities as well as his circle of friends.

On July 2, Pacquiao defeated another Mexican, Oscar Larios, a two-time super-bantamweight champion. Despite his camp's big promise of an early knockout, the fight went the distance with Pacquiao knocking down the Mexican two times during the 12-round bout for the WBC International Super Featherweight title held at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Philippines.[citation needed]

In September 2006, Pacquiao signed a major deal with Golden Boy Promotions (GBP), headed by Oscar de la Hoya, which is good for seven fights. This development was confirmed by coach Freddie Roach. Under the deal, Pacquiao is guaranteed a prize money of US$5 million for each fight. With regard to profits made on each fight, Pacquiao will be receiving at least 90% while the remaining 10% will go to Golden Boy Promotions.

Pacquiao and Morales fought for a third time (with the "series" tied 1-all) on November 18, 2006. Witnessed by a near-record crowd of 18,276, the match saw Pacquiao defeating Morales via a third-round knockout at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

After the Pacquiao-Morales rematch, Arum announced that Manny returned his signing bonus check back with Golden Boy Promotions signalling intentions to stay with Top Rank. This resulted in GBP's decision to sue the famed fighter over contractual breaches.

At the end of 2006, he was named by both HBO and Ring Magazine as the fighter of the year, with HBO also naming him as the most exciting fighter of the year.

After a failed promotional negotiation with Marco Antonio Barrera's camp, Bob Arum chose Jorge Solis as his next opponent among several fighters that Bob Arum offered him to fight as a replacement. The bout was held in San Antonio on April 14, 2007. In the sixth round of the bout an accidental head butt occurred giving Pacquiao a cut under his left eyebrow. The fight ended in the 8th round when Pacquiao knocked Solis down twice, with Solis failing to beat the 10 count after the second knockdown. The victory raised Pacquiao's win-draw-loss record to 44-3-2 with 35 KOs.

On June 29, 2007 it was announced that Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions agreed to settle their lawsuit, meaning the long-awaited rematch with Marco Antonio Barrera will occur despite being the number 1 contender for the super-featherweight title of Juan Manuel Marquez.

Since Bob Arum was out on a vacation, Golden Boy Promotions’ chief executive Richard Schaefer politely declined to discuss Manny Pacquiao’s purse from the Oct. 6 rematch with Marco Antonio Barrera (at the Mandalay Bay Resort Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas). But Pacquiao was likely to get a purse of $5 million, plus possibly a share of the pay-per-view rights. Meanwhile Pacquiao denied gossips that he failed to pay taxes for his Porsche SUV at the Bureau of Customs (BoC). He bought the luxury vehicle (Porsche Cayenne) -- two weeks before his match with Erik Morales (A report by Thomas Hauser of secondsout.com said the Porsche Cayenne costs $67,639 or P3.5 million}.

A Pacquiao vs Barrera rematch is now calendared on October 6, 2007 at Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, NV, USA. Pacquiao, at 28, is in his prime while Barrera, at 33, is considering this fight to be his last.

In the bible of boxing, Pacquiao (44-3-2) remains at the top of the junior lightweight division (130 pounds). He had been in the ratings for 108 weeks. Pacquiao is also at No. 2 in the pound-for-pound category behind welterweight champ Floyd Mayweather, who recently defeated Oscar de la Hoya. Related to this are the ratings of Filipinos Donaire (18 wins, 1 lost, 11 knockouts) and Florante "The Little Pacquiao" Condes (22-3-1 draw, 20). They have made it to the prestigious Ring Magazine rankings (July 9). The bible of boxing put Donaire at second spot in the flyweight division (112 pounds) just behind Pongsaklek Wonjongkam (65-2, 34) of Thailand, who is rated No. 1. Condes, on the other hand, is at third in the straw weight division (105 lbs).

In popular culture
A movie based on his life has been produced and was released on June 21, 2006. The movie is titled Pacquiao: The Movie featuring Filipino actor Jericho Rosales as Manny Pacquiao and is directed by Joel Lamangan. Despite its huge P50,000,000 ($1,031,991) budget, wide distribution (80 cinemas) and strong marketing, the movie flopped in the box-office, grossing a total of only P4,812,191 ($99,322) confirmed by Lamangan.

Shortly after winning his rematch with Erik Morales, Pacquiao produced the song "Para Sa 'Yo Ang Laban Na 'To" (Translation: "This Fight is for You") which became a hit single all over the Philippines. It expressed a nationalistic theme as well as Pacquiao's struggles in the ring. The release of the song came weeks before his second bout with Morales, leading up to the promos to the fight. Although "Para sa 'Yo" is his first attempt at professional music recording, Pacquiao's victory against Morales greatly contributed to the song's popularity.

After their third bout, Pacquiao and Morales appeared together in a San Miguel Beer commercial filmed for the Filipino audience. The commercial ended with Pacquiao and Morales toasting their friendship with San Miguels. This commercial has been parodied in the comedy show, Bubble Gang, with Michael V. playing Pacquiao, and Ogie Alcasid playing Morales.

During her sixth State of the Nation Address on July 24, 2006 in Quezon City, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo cited Pacquiao as one of the nation's modern day heroes. "Mabuhay ka, Manny", said Arroyo. In return, the champion delivered his own speech endorsing Arroyo. "The President said many good things in the SONA." Pacquiao remarked.

It is not widely known that professional wrestlers The Undertaker and Christian Cage were actually a part of Pacquiao's entourage during the Pacquiao vs. Velázquez fight in 2005. An avid boxing fan, The Undertaker was the person who carried the US flag while leading Team Pacquiao to the ring. This was also confirmed by another fellow wrestler, Batista. Batista revealed this during a televised interview in the Philippines while promoting an upcoming WWE promotional tour which was set to be shown in this country.Rumours are rife that Pacquiao is to enter the world of professional wrestling having being offered a contract by the WWE.

Pacquiao is currently being sponsored by Nike and No Fear sports apparels.

Pacquiao owns a lottery outlet for the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.

Pacquiao is the owner of the Pac Man Gensan of the Mindanao Visayas Basketball
Association. The team based in his hometown of General Santos City. Pacquiao even suited up for the team for a few games during the first conference of said league.

Pacquiao is the third non-fictional Filipino featured in a video game. He is featured in the
video games Fight Night: Round 2 and Fight Night: Round 3. The first two were pool legends Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante, who both appeared in the World
Championship Pool 2004 video game.

Pacquiao is an avid supporter and endorser of PBA team Barangay Ginebra Kings.

Politics
For some time, many have speculated that Manny Pacquiao will enter politics after he ends his boxing career. While boxing is far from over for him, Pacquiao admitted that he is thinking about starting a career in politics. In fact, he quietly visited the Commission on Elections, escorted by Arnold "Ali" Atienza (son of then Manila Mayor Lito Atienza), to transfer his residence from General Santos City to Manila.[citation needed] This fueled speculations that he may seek an elective post in the nation's capital, which even gave him the title "Adopted Son" when he was winning his earlier bouts.

His name was once floated as a possible vice-mayoralty candidate to the younger Atienza when the latter seeks the city's highest post in the 2007 elections, but backed-out after Sen. Panfilo Lacson, then the leading candidate for Manila mayor, did the same after there were threats from his opponents to dig up the issue of his residency. (Similarly, Pacquiao also had such issues).

Being known as an Arroyo supporter, his name is also being floated as a candidate of Lakas CMD for the mayoralty race of General Santos City against incumbent Mayor Pedro Acharon. Instead, he was recently sworn-in as a member of the Liberal Party under the Atienza wing, thus further fueling his political ambition.

On February 12, 2007, the famed boxer announced that he was running for congress representing South Cotabato. His decision however easily turned off both his fans and the general public. Election experts stressed that as Pacquiao insists on participating in his next professional boxing match, he will immerse himself into a legal conflict regarding campaign exposure, especially since the match will be televised nationwide. Aside from that, COMELEC commissioner Ben Abalos mentioned a possible legal entanglement could ruin Pacquiao's candidacy since he already registered himself as a Manila resident months prior.

Numerous sports personalities and analysts around the Philippines expressed that Pacquiao should think seriously and deeply about his sports career, which could potentially be destroyed by the dirty world of politics. Popular columnist Randy David mentioned that Pacquiao allowed himself to be used by selfish and desperate politicians.

On February 24, 2007 in Cebu City, Pacquiao, for the first time ever, was booed by thousands of spectators as his presence was acknowledged by the organizers of The Battle of Cebu, a WBO-sanctioned boxing festival. The embarrassment later led to confusing statements made by Manila Mayor Lito Atienza that the famed fighter would withdraw. Despite the statements however, Pacquiao confirmed to the public that he would still run for office.

The negative sentiment among Cebuanos over Pacquiao's political aspiration was felt even before the The Battle of Cebu was held as at least one citizen's comment got published by local newspaper Sun Star.

In relation to the April 14 fight with Arce, the political opposition stated that they would not press for a ban on the broadcasting of the match despite its potential to violate election campaign rules.

Even though he won over Solis, Pacquiao's appeal has diminished most likely due to his political ambition. His last fight attracted noticeably smaller audiences and his performance was considered by many as disappointing. Some election candidates even turned the Pacquiao-Solis match into campaign gigs.

On May 17, 2007, Pacquiao suffered a lopsided election defeat to incumbent representative Darlene Antonino-Custodio with a deficit of about 37,000 votes according to the NAMFREL tally. Meanwhile, WBC head Jose Sulaiman stated that Pacquiao "doesn’t appear to be having the same dynamic impact at the ballot box, as he does in the ringed square."

The defeat became a depressing matter for the boxer himself as he lost a huge sum of money when his supporters allegedly funneled campaign funds to their own pockets. Pacquiao's personal money was part of the campaign budget.[28] Ironically, Pacquiao's fans rejoiced over his defeat. Some even declared his loss as a "victory" for boxing.

Over at General Santos City, Diocese of Marbel spokesman Fr. Angel Buenavides considered President Arroyo's endorsement of Pacquiao as a "curse" as constituents in the area have strong anti-Arroyo sentiments.

On May 20, 2007, Manny Pacquiao formally conceded to his congresswoman Antonino-Custodio, vowing to return to boxing and spend more time with his family.

On August 1, 2007, Pacquiao filed a P30-million libel suit against 4 journalists of the Manila Bulletin - sports writer Nick Giongco, publisher Hermogenes P. Pobre, editor-in-chief Cris J. Icban Jr., and Sports section editor Ding Marcelo. The complaint stemmed from the article "Trouble in Paradise-Again?" written by Giongco and published last July 25 in F-2 sports section of the Manila Bulletin. Pacman cited the alleged libelous fourth paragraph of the article - "Pacquiao who spent millions in unsuccessful bid to win a congressional seat in his hometown in General Santos City is reported to be a compulsive gambler and is known to bet hundreds of thousand in casinos, cockfighting, and billiards."


Other media
With his popularity, various business sectors have solicited Manny Pacquiao's help in endorsing their products through commercial advertisements in print and in broadcast. These include detergents, medicines, foods, garments, telecommunications, and even a political ad for Chavit Singson during the May 14, 2007 elections.

On April 12, 2007, the COMELEC cancelled his comercial appearances in accordance with existing Philippine election laws. Airing of the commercials resumed after the elections.

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Charice Pempengco

Charice Pempengco is a Filipino International Singing Sensation who rose to

popularity through YouTube. Charice has been singing since she was four and has been joining singing contests one after the other with the hopes of winning the prize money so they can have food to put on their table.

It wasn't until an avid fan posted her jaw-dropping performances on YouTube that suddenly this Little Girl with the Big Voice burst through the computer and into the hearts of millions of people across the globe racking up several million views online.

This discovery led to several television appearances including The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and then The Oprah Winfrey Show, stunning audiences and bringing both Ellen and Oprah to tears.

Oprah was so impressed by Charice that she called legendary music producer David Foster, who then, without hesitation, turned Charice into his newest protégé. Since then Charice has appeared alongside many of today's top stars such as Katharine McPhee, Andrea Bocelli, Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, Alicia Keys and Celine Dion.

Today she continues to WOW audiences not only with her goose bump-inducing voice, but with power and emotion rarely heard in one who is so young.
Indeed - A DIVA IS BORN!!!

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