Marc Jacobs Luxurious Dog Carrier

How lucky the dog that would be put inside this Marc Jacobs limited edition luxurious dog carrier!

But as much as I'd like to pamper my Princess, I just won't buy anything like this. Okay, I don't have the money for it, but I don't think I'd buy one even if I could. Imagine its cost - somewhere between 41,800 to 58,500 USD!

This dog carrier was displayed at the ‘L’ Excellence du Savoir-Faire exhibition at Sotheby’s auction house in London. It was exhibited alongside Louis Vuitton limited-edition, special order pieces by Damien Hirst, Chef Ferran Adria, photographer Annie Leibovitz and musician Gustavo Santaolalla.

via buy-online-accessories.com

Giant LV Suitcase

This giant Louis Vuitton suitcase surely will not fail to draw attention. It's in front of the Ngee Ann City building on Orchard Road where the LV boutique is.

photo: thebachelorgirl.com

Havaianas Zip G – iWant!

First saw this at The Fash Pack blog. I told myself I'd get one as soon as I see one (you know how hard-to-find these Havaianas are). And then I came across the Havaianas website and saw this:

It would be a sin to not put Princess inside one of these. Besides, I'm already sick of her carrier.

I really wish there's an All Flip-Flops store somewhere near me. As of now, the nearest branch is in MOA. And near means a little over 200 pesos in taxi fare.

But I think I would be going to SMX this Saturday with the kids. I guess I'll pay All Flip-Flops a visit.

Another wish: an official Havianas online store. I really don't like buying in Multiply.

photos: thefashpack.blogspot.com havaianasphilippines.com

Efren Peñaflorida is CNN Hero of the Year

Efren Peñaflorida has been named CNN Hero of the Year at the conclusion of the third "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute" held at the Kodak Theater Saturday night.

Efren, who started a "pushcart classroom" to bring education closer to the street children of the Philippines, was announced the winner by CNN's Anderson Cooper. He will receive $100,000 to help him continue the noble deed he has started.

The ten heroes was selected after seven weeks of online voting at the CNN website. Each selected hero was given a documentary tribute and was introduced by a celebrity presenter. Above photo shows Efren with Eva Mendes. Aside from that each of them receives $25,000.

The Top 10 CNN Heroes are Brad Blauser, Roy Foster, Doc Hendley, Andrea Ivory, Betty Makoni, Jorge Munoz, Efren Peñaflorida, Budi Soehardi, Derrick Tabb, and Jordan Thomas.

Congratulations Efren! Continue being an angel many and I'm sure more good things will come.

photo: cnn.com

When Naruto Takes Over Sesame Street

Sesame Street is perhaps the most famous children's television show on earth. Most countries have their local versions of it but English-speaking nations just adapt its US version.

But since we're so bilingual here in the PH, we (me and my peers at least) grew up watching two versions - the Tagalog (Batibot) and the original Sesame Street. Batibot had been taken down when the bigger networks put up their own (short-lived) children's shows. But however original they claim it to be, they're all just patterned after Sesame Sreet.

Puppets in the local Sesame Streeet versions actually vary. In our country, we're so lucky Pong Pagong was lent to us by the Sesame Street US. At one point even, everyone was saddened when talks about getting Pong Pagong back to the US version spread around. Luckily, they let the turtle stay in our shores.

I guess the puppet that is originally ours is Kiko Matsing. They perhaps came up with the monkey puppet because of the famous children's story that involves a turtle and a monkey.

Since we grew up knowing the "pagong and matsing" story, seeing Pong and Kiko in Batibot was nothing new anymore. The puppets gave us a sort of connection to the well-loved fable and the values it taught us.

Pong Pagong and Kiko Matsing's tandem became a hit. These puppets taught the Filipino kids good values and the importance of friendship and working together. Along with Ate Siena and Kuya Bodjie (spell?), watching Batibot became a part of our weekdays.

In my time, it was aired twice in a day. One in the morning and one in the afternoon. Perhaps it was aired that way so the school kids in the morning classes could watch it in the afternoon, and those who went to school in the afternoon could watch it in the morning.

Currently, we only have animation/cartoon series as kid shows in the morning. Mothers have no choice but to turn on the tv to Pokemon or Mr. Bean or Naruto to entertain their kids while they do their morning duties. The better offs have options, though, if they have cable tv. Nickelodeon and Disney Channel are of course better alternatives. But what if they don't have cable tv?

Okay, so Pokemon has little moral lessons in its episodes. But unlike Batibot or Sesame Street, Pokemon doesn't teach the ABC's and 123's. And Mr. Bean and Naruto? I like watching Mr. Bean cuz it makes me laugh. But I'm very thankful that we didn't have Mr. Bean on tv when we were growing up. As with regards to Naruto, violence has really no space even in my tv viewing.

In South Africa, Sesame Street (or Takalani Sesame as they call it) is still a big thing. They even came up with a new puppet named Kami (short for the Setswana word “Kamogelo” which means “acceptance”). And why the name? Because Kami is an HIV-positive 5-year-old girl. And she needs acceptance. I guess you already know what happened when this puppet reached Sesame - her neighbors embraced her, and loved her with no prejudice. They listened to Kami as she talked about the challenges she's going through as an HIV-positive individual.

So you see, these children shows can bring hope and awareness to the kids, no matter how young or old they are. Africa is known to have a lot of HIV-positive children and they decided to use Kami to give these kids hope, to at least cheer them up to the thought that hey, there's a puppet who's going through the same ordeal as I am, and I don't have to lose hope.

We can actually use that right now. We may not have as much AIDS cases here but think about a flood-striken-puppet who was left homeless and have nothing to live by, walking aimlessly and reaching Batibot Street. I'm sure Ate Siena or Ate Isay would be very willing to take care of him and be instant family. Wouldn't it give such inspiration not only to the victims of Ondoy but to all of us?

On the other hand, imagine a Naruto-loving-kid hit by the flood in Marikina. What hope could he get from his favorite television show? Aspire to learn the art of water vending?

photo: thefrisky.com

"What's Bing?"

Microsoft sponsored New Moon's movie premier. Ryan Seacrest, in a booth just outside the theater broadcasting live on the radio, was giving out Bing bags to the guests as token. It's just bad that Robert Pattinson didn't even know what Bing was. "What's Bing?" he queried when he received the small package. I hope someone told him beforehand that Bing was Microsoft's search engine.

But of course the real issue in the video is how Robert's rep cut the interview as soon as Ryan Seacrest began asking the Twilight star about his co-star, Kristen Stewart. The rep said they're talking about the movie (and not Kristen). Uhh... isn't Kristen part of it, too?

I'm so showbiz. Let's cut it here.

xoxo

2012

I watched 2012 yesterday with JP, my movie buddy for years now. Good thing it's his day-off cuz I was really dying to watch and I'm not used to going alone to the movies anymore. I must admit going to the movies alone is quite an adventure but I'm so past that stage already.

I was actually wondering why he wasn't texting me about watching 2012 when I have read good reviews about it. You see, we only see good movies and/or blockbusters together. I eventually learned that his brother who watched 2012 on it's 2nd day gave a bad feedback, so he thought against watching it.

But his brother was proven wrong. The movie was so fast-paced and kept us on the edge almost all throughout. JP specifically loved Lilly (Morgan Lily) cuz she reminded him of the young Dakota. The scene where Jackson (John Cusack) was driving the limo with his family towards the airport to escape the  chaos that seemed to be following them was a blast. It was GTA-on-doomsday.

Another thing to love in this movie is the Japanese Chin (?) named Caesar. I'm not actually sure if he's a Jap Chin or a Pekingese but he looked more like the former. As a pet lover, I'm so relieved that they didn't kill him in the story. But his human did. Actually, those with "unclear conscience" actually died. Well, not all. But the Russian Yuri and his girlfriend Tamara (Caesar's human), plus Sasha the pilot whom Tamara had indecent affair with all died.

When all thought it was a spaceship they were building to save humanity, I thought wow, was this inspired by Wall-E? LOL! But the minute I saw a giraffe and an elephant suspended in helicopters towards the "spaceships," I knew it was a modern version of the Bible's great flood. And it was confirmed when the spaceships turned out to be just ships. But a very high-tech one at that.

One more thing: Osric Chau, the actor who played the Chinese named Nima, is very Jay R (the singer) and a little like Paolo Abrera. LOL! Can't help but notice.

It's almost 2009. What can I possibly do to come up with a 1 billion euro before 2012? LOL! I guess people like me should just embrace what's to come. After all, no one really knows when the end of world will be.

Or is it ending now?

Tony and October Gonzalez for PETA

Tony Gonzalez and wife October Gonzalez pose naked for the PETA ad campaign.

Tony says what goes on in the industry is just ridiculous and that the animals' lives are miserable from the second they were born - being pumped up with hormones and fed with corn, which is not their natural diet.

I am a self confessed dog lover, and reading about the cruelties happening to animals make me sad. I hope everyone gets involved in fighting for animal rights. Animals have life. They breathe. And they are here to be taken care of. They have a purpose in this world, and that's not to be on our plates to be consumed.