Vanessa de Roide

>>> I simply cannot get over this lady so I'm doing this small commentary about her. The good thing about this woman is that she is so natural-looking, which is a rarity in her native Puerto Rico. I'm saying this only because most if not all Puertorican delegates to international beauty pageants all look fake, just like their rival Venezuelans.

The saddest thing about the Miss Earth pageant is that it lacks official delegate portraits and other photos, unlike the Miss Universe pageant where pageant fans get a ton of pictures from the day to day activities of the pageant. With the Miss Earth pageant, you get a handful of low-res pictures from their official website and you get a lot of pictures from other external fan sites that are watermark loaded...which means you can't really appreciate the real photo.

Up to now I'm still frustrated at the fact that Vanessa did not reach the top 4. Clearly, she has elegance, poise and class. Her finalist interview was not bad at all and her performance in the evening gown competition was again flawless, derby convincing the others that she deserves her Best in Long Gown award. So why the hell did Miss Serbia & Montenegro beat her to be in the top 4. No offense to Jovana (Miss S&M), who i also find very pretty, but her performances in the top 8 were sub-par.

But hey, I'm just babbling here coz I really feel that Vanessa de Roide deserves one of the 'elemental crowns'. Too bad she couldn't join the MU Puerto Rico pageant coz as I know it, she wouldn't be allowed to join because she already has competed in an international pageant. Well maybe she can still join the Miss Mundo Puerto Rico pageant and shine in the Miss World arena.

Miss Earth 2005

New Miss Earth 2005 Alexandra Braun Waldeck from Venezuela, center, is flanked by Miss Earth-Air, Amell Santana from Dominican Republic, left, and Miss Earth-Water, Katarzyna Borowicz from Poland, during the coronation night as she bested 80 other contestants from around the world in suburban Manila, Philippines, on Sunday Oct. 23, 2005. Miss Earth is a privately-organized annual beauty contest that aims to promote public awareness of environmental protection issues and promote tourism. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

>>> All I can say is "Wow!". I am so happy with the results of the recently concluded Miss Earth pageant. Although I am disappointed that my favourite delegate Miss Puerto Rico, Vanessa de Roide, did not advance further from the top 8. I guess while watching the pageant, I had hoped that Puerto Rico would be in the final 4 instead of Jovana Marjanovic, Miss Serbia & Montenegro, who had a terrible time during the interviews.

>>> DOMINICAN REPUBLIC has just solidified its Neo-powerhouse status with the impressive Miss Earth 2005 performance courtesy of Amell Santana.

Miss World 2004 - 1st Runner-Up
Miss Universe 2005 - 2nd Runner-Up
Miss International 2005 - 1st Runner-Up
Miss Earth 2005 - 1st Runner-Up

I would like to add that it was finally time for Dominican Republic to shine in the Miss Earth pageant. I was rooting for 2002's Yilda Santana and 2003's Suanny Frontaan but both failed to make the semifinal cut.

>>> VENEZUELA and PUERTO RICO deserved their Best in Swimsuit and Long Gown awards. For the Swimsuit award, I was also rooting for Miss USA Amanda Kimmel. For the Long Gown award, I really didn't have any other favourite other than Vanessa de Roide. So it came as a shock to me that Puerto Rico did not advance to the top 4 considering that her performance in the Long Gown competition in the top 8 was simply amazing! Anyways, Vanessa did a superb job and I'm really happy for her. She was the first Miss Puerto Rico in Miss Earth to win an award and make the semifinal cut. Speaking of first times, Alexandra Braun has establish the same feat that Vanessa did for her country. Alexandra is the first Miss Venezuela to win Miss Earth, win a major award and make the semifinal cut. Kudos to VENEZUELA and PUERTO RICO!!!

>>> Was it just me or was Katarzyna Borowicz, Miss POLAND, really super ecstatic to be just a runner-up? Well, she may be just one of the few who really did not join the pageant to win. After all, a 3rd Runner-Up finish in Miss World and a 2nd Runner-Up finish in Miss Earth is a good enough feat in the beauty pageant world. I dare say also that based from the results of the recent Miss Polonia pageant, I'm bent on saying that Katarzyna might be the last of the Polish invasion of Miss Earth semifinals.

>>> Miss PHILIPPINES continues her country's streak in the Miss Earth semifinals. She is the fifth consecutive Filipina to be included in the semifinals. I think the Philippines will be a mainstay in the semifinals. This is their pageant after all.

>>> Miss CHILE, Nataly Chilet, winning the Miss Photogenic award is such a laugh trip!!! Although I find her really pretty, I just don't think she is photogenic enough to win this elusive award. I would have expected Venezuela, Puerto Rico, USA, Poland or Egypt to win this award.

>>> BRAZIL and EGYPT are the non-finalists who should have been in the semifinals. Isabella Chaves may not be as stunning as her 2 predecessors but she knows how to play her cards well. Elham Wagdi is a delight to look at and her performances were consistent. Both these ladies constitute my Miss Earth 2005 Injustice list.

>>> Miss BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA, Sanja Susnja, has proven that her country can recover their already tainted name when it comes to Miss Earth. Many will remember that the beautiful (but biatch-y) Dzejla Glavovic won the Miss Earth 2002 crown only to be dethroned for not fulfilling her duties. Back then I recall that I was really saddened by this news because I was a fan of the beauty of Dzejla and I was happy that she has achieved a pageant feat for Bosnia & Herzegovina. For a while there, people thought that the country will be forever tainted by this unfortunate incident. But I'm glad Sanja has changed all that.

>>> Miss PARAGUAY, Tania Domanizcky, follows on the footsteps of Yanina Gonzalez but falls a few steps behind. I am a fan of this lady but I never thought she would do well in this year's Miss Earth because she has lost luster in the last couple of weeks. But I'm so happy she went as far as top 8. This just goes to should that real beauty is difficult to miss.

Miss Earth 2005: Venezuela Alexandra Braun

1st RU: Dominican Republic Amell Santana
2nd RU: Poland Katarzyna Borowicz
3rd RU: Serbia & Montenegro Jovana Marjanovic

FINALISTS:
Chile Nataly Chilet
Paraguay Tania Domanizcky
Puerto Rico Vanessa de Roide
USA Amanda Kimmel

SEMI-FINALISTS:
Bosnia & Herzegovina Sanja Susnja
Czech Republic Zuzana Stepanovska
Ecuador Cristina Reyes
El Salvador Irma Dimas
Korea Hie Mi Yoo
Philippines Genebelle Raagas
Russia Tatyana Yamova
Tanzania Rehema Sudi

Miss Earth 2005: Pre-pageant Thoughts

Pageant Powerhouses conquer the Earth!

It's that special time of the year again as we welcome the ladies for the 5th annual Miss Earth Pageant. This year, the pageant has again risen in the number of quality delegates. Here are our favourites and bets for this year's pageant. It seems that the so-called beauty pageant powerhouses have now penetrated the Miss Earth pageant.

::: TOP 4. Possible Winners :::

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - Neo-powerhouse Dominican Republic has sent the dark-skinned Amell Santana. There have been 2 past Miss Dominican Republic ladies (Suanny Frontaan & Yilda Santana) that were deserving of a semifinal placement but have both been excluded come finals night. Hopefully Amell could break into the semifinals and possibly win the crown.

PUERTO RICO - Vanessa de Roide is the best Miss Puerto Rico so far in the history of this pageant. She is young, beautiful and very appealing. Puerto Rico is a perennial favourite in the other major beauty pageants but has never been lucky in Miss Earth. Vanessa is sure to bring glory to Puerto Rico come pageant night.

USA - Former Miss Montana Amanda Kimmel has a chance to bring the United States back into the semifinals after a 3-year absence. The last time USA placed was way back on the first ever Miss Earth pageant when alluring Abby Royce became a top ten placer. Amanda is everything a beauty queen should be. Does she have enough luck to actually win the crown?

VENEZUELA - Miss Earth fans all over the world has waited year in and year out for the inclusion of the ultimate powerhouse Venezuela in the semifinals. Sadly, none of the 3 former Miss Venezuela's to compete in Miss Earth had the right qualities to become a Miss Earth semifinalist. In fact, they even fall below the expected benchmark of a true Venezuelan beauty titlist. Then came Alexandra Braun. She made this pageant a real beauty pageant to die for. She is a huge favourite among webmasters and she is sure to place in the top 4. Will he be Venezuela's first semifinalist and first Miss Earth?


Among these four ladies, our favourite to win is the young and lovely Miss Puerto Rico, Vanessa de Roide. A close second is Venezuela's Alexandra Braun. In fact, either one of them would be a good Miss Earth. Amell and Amanda could sure pull a surprise an finish in the top 2, but our predictions see them battle for the 3rd and 4th places.


::: Major standouts :::

POLAND - Katarzyna just missed our top 4 slots but it doesn't mean that we don't predict she will do well. She is likely to surpass last year's Karolina's feat but it will be difficult to surpass or double Marta's feat 2 years ago. She has an unbelievable pageant scorecard after finishin in the top 5 of a major beauty pageant last December. We predict a top 8 finish but she can actually pull a surprise and finish in the top 4.

EGYPT - Elham Wagdi is such a stunner! Her sultry looks is a sight to behold. Her curls are flattering but she should straigthen some of them. Her near perfect body is sure to make her a contender for the Best in Swimsuit Award. Egypt is on its way to becoming a Miss Earth powerhouse. Good luck!

BRAZIL - You gotta admit, it is difficult to follow a Miss Earth winner from your country...and even more difficult to follow someone as beautiful as Priscilla Meirelles. Isabella has beauty and grace and she will definitely do well in this competition. But her chances of landing in the top 4 is slim.

Blond, James Blond

Daniel Craig has been named as the next James Bond. The 'Layer Cake' star - who was recently rumoured to have had a fling with Jude Law's ex-fiancée Sienna Miller - won the coveted part of the dashing spy after an 18 month search to replace Pierce Brosnan.

The 37-year-old actor - who will be the first ever blond Bond - beat actor Henry Cavill to the role. Hollywood heartthrobs such as Clive Owen, Colin Farrell and Hugh Jackman were also in the running to step into Bond's tuxedo for the new movie, 'Casino Royale'.

A movie source told Britain's The Sun newspaper: "The decision to give Daniel the role was taken earlier this week. It followed a crunch meeting at the weekend. "There was some lively debate between the producers and the directors, but Daniel won out."

Film bosses are expected to confirm the news later today. The star's mother, Carol, told Liverpool's Daily Post newspaper the whole family is over the moon Daniel will be the sixth Bond. She said: "Obviously we are thrilled to bits. "It has come at a very good time in his career. He has worked extremely hard all his life and this would be his biggest populist role. It will be life-changing."

>>> I've never been really a fan of the James Bond movies but my grandfather is. I think I have only seen 3 James Bond films, namely: Die Another Day, Goldeneye and The World is Not Enough.

I've also never really liked Daniel Craig, however, I did like him in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. I didn't really know how to react when they announced that Daniel is the new James Bond. The best thing about this is that he is British, which for me, is the single most important quality of any actor who wished to become James Bond. About his being blond, it may seem a little weird if he will keep his pure blond hair but who knows, maybe it's time we have a blond secret agent on her Majesty's Secret Service.

Video iPod, At Long Last

InformationWeek

Apple Computer last week unveiled its long-anticipated video iPod, designed to dominate the online video-download market. The only problem is that the market doesn't really exist--yet. But Apple expects big things.

The new iPod features a 2.5-inch color screen. It's thinner and has more storage than the previous iPod version, but the price is unchanged--$299 for the 30-Gbyte model and $399 for the 60-Gbyte one, which Apple estimates will hold 15,000 songs, 25,000 photos, or more than 150 hours of video.

Apple partnered with Disney to offer downloads of ABC shows such as Desperate Housewives and Lost. In addition to some 2,000 music videos, iTunes users can buy Pixar short films. And though there aren't many video blogs now, that's likely to change if video iPods become popular.

Audio podcasting took off thanks to both iPod and iTunes, and video podcasting should follow a similar trajectory. Expect to see a lot more of it, from the usual suspects and emerging talent.

>>> I just bought my coloured iPod U2 last August and now Apple has kinda made my gadget defunct. However, I never really wanted to watch videos on my iPod coz it's always better to watch movies, music videos and television shows on the bigger screens of our conventional tv's. What I'm impressed with in this new technology is that you can now watch episodes of your favourite TV shows the day after it was shown. I'm completely aware that you can download these shows on Torrents but these could take forever, depending on the speed of your connection and the connection of your peers. I hope more and more shows will be available in iTunes, like Gilmore Girls, Smallville and One Tree Hill. Although, I must admit that I ain't gonna buy the new iPod. The next iPod I'm probably gonna buy should have Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and AM/FM radio capabilities on the minimum.