Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 Official Trailer

Will Friendster Really Close on May 31, 2011?

It's a Facebook world after all...in the social networking realm, at least. The news you've been hearing about Friendster shutting down is not true. Only Friendster’s social networking services will be discontinued, but the company will retain its name and will be launched again as a social entertainment site. If you have an existing Friendster account, your username and password will remain the same.

Information from Friendster's FAQ page:

QUESTION:

"What will happen to the current version of Friendster and my Friendster account?"

ANSWER:

"We are introducing a new and improved Friendster in the coming weeks that will be focused on entertainment and fun. There will be new features that will leverage on your online activities and will enable you to connect with friends or engage new friends with similar interests.

For example, if you are playing games or listening to music but none of your friends are, your social experience may be limited. Our improved site is designed to create new profiles that allow you to connect differently with people and do things differently than other networking sites. Basically, the new site will complement your existing online presence in other social networking sites.

Your Friendster account will not be deleted when these new features and changes take place. You may continue to login to Friendster using your existing login details. Your list of friends will be preserved, along with your basic profile information, wallet and games.

Stay tuned for the new Friendster's Beta version!"

For more information about the changes that will happen to Friendster, log in to your account, and click the 'Help' page.

The Easter Tradition

Being a Filipino, Easter for me symbolizes only the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. For other countries, the symbol of Easter Sunday is a bunny, and the reason behind that, I do not know. However, I noticed, just like Halloween, we Filipinos are slowly celebrating Easter Sunday the 'Western-World' way. There were Easter egg hunts everywhere, even at Church. I am not questioning why this is happening; forgive me if I seem to be going in that direction. What made me really curious was the history behind the association of Easter Sunday to bunnies, and egg hunting. To satisfy my curious mind, I did a research on the said topic.

As it turns out, Easter is actually a pagan festival, to honor Eastre, the ancient Saxon's goddess of springtime and offspring. When Christian missionaries encountered these Saxon tribes, they tried to convert them, as well as their pagan celebrations. Coincidentally, the festival of the goddess Eastre was celebrated the same time as the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. However, the said celebration was celebrated on different days of the week, and not Sunday, until Emperor Constantine decreed it to be so.

As for the rabbit being associated with Easter, its origin is also related to the pagan festival for the goddess Eastre, since the rabbit was her earthly symbol. Why a rabbit, you may ask? The explanation is quite simple - they were the known most fertile animals that time, a perfect symbol of the spring season. It became a symbol of the Easter celebration we know today, when German settlers (Pennsylvania Dutch) introduced it to America in the 18th century. Childhood’s greatest pleasures would not be complete without the arrival of the "Oster Hase" or the Easter Bunny, just like the visit of Christ-Kindel (Santa Claus) on Christmas Eve. If children hang socks for Santa, back then, they built nests in secluded areas in their homes, where the Oster Hase can lay bright-colored eggs in. It was in Germany, during the early 19^th century, where the first edible Easter Eggs were made, and they were made of pastry and sugar.

What's Wrong with Mommy Blogging?

OMG! I was just about to transform my blog, since I saw one mommy blog that seemed to have so many followers, when it's obvious she doesn't have much content in her blog. I wanted people to visit my blog, and hear what I have to say, just like what's happening on her blog. I thought maybe, since I'm a mommy, I should pattern my blog after hers. And then I came across this post, "Don't Cry for Mommy Bloggers", and I realized I was about to jump into the bandwagon of mommy blogging with the wrong reasons. I felt guilty while reading the blog post, because that was my intention, to get sponsors to send me their products for me to review and give my 2 cents about them. I am a writer, for crying out loud! If followers would follow me, I really want it to be because they like what they are reading. However, I don't like the fact that the said article generalized mommy bloggers as the only ones who blog for money's sake. Maybe he just came across a lot of mommy bloggers who are like that, but that doesn't mean all mommy bloggers just blog to earn cash, even if it meant sacrificing their integrity.

Is it really that bad, to want to earn money through your blog? I found a lot of articles about ways to earn cash online, and blogging is always in them. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't a huge part of the people that these articles invite to seek ways on how to earn money through the internet stay at home moms? Now that moms are making waves online through blogging, some people now want to put them down. The writer of the blog post I mentioned is a man - I think that says it all. He has a point, though, when he mentioned that you have to have integrity as a blogger. He mentioned that mommy bloggers tend to make their product reviews always positive, so that they can get freebies, discounts, and even money - which shouldn't be so. It's important for us bloggers to share the truth; it's a way to make us credible. If we do need to review a product by a sponsor, we can write about what's good about it, as well as its downside. That way, we can help the company who made the product do some revisions, just because of the un-biased review we provided.

So, what's my conclusion? Mommy blogging is a cool thing, as long as boundaries are set. Blogs should have content, not just advertisements. When I search mommy blogs, I look for advices on parenting, fun things to do with the kids, and craft making, and I do find most of them have interesting and useful content (well, except for the blog I mentioned at the beginning of this article). We mommies should continue what we started, and give cyber world a piece of our mind (and our cookies, too! LOL).

ABS-CBN Summer 2011 Station ID

I have always been a fan of Kapamilya station IDs, and their summer station ID this year, entitled, "Bida Best sa Tag-Araw, is no exception. Here's a peek, in case you haven't seen it yet. I also included the 'Kapamilya' version, wherein submitted pictures from fans on the Bidabest Facebook page were included on the video. Enjoy!

BIDABEST ORIGINAL VIDEO



BIDABEST KAPAMILYA VERSION

Lindsay Lohan is Going Back to Jail

Lindsay Lohan is going back to jail, after being found in violation of probation, on Friday. She was sentenced to four months in jail. Her violation is with regard to her alleged stealing of a $2,500 necklace. According to reports, Lindsay was crying while the Judge (Judge Stephanie Sautner), scolded her for her behavior, including the nail polish she wore to court that says "FU". The Judges' harsh words to Lindsay are as follows -

"Would a person with any brains walk out with a necklace with [security] cameras on?" "Maybe it's brazenness, stupidity – I don't know what. Perhaps it was a desire to hide in plain sight."
"I see her intent [to steal] and I see a level of brazenness,"
"It was like, 'Let me see what I can get away with." (this was because of the fact that Lindsay returned the necklace only after she saw a search warrant for her house was coming.)
"She thumbs her nose at the court.""She walks into court with FU on her fingernails. I don't know what that's all about."

Lindsay's controversial nail polish

The actress is still lucky because the Judge reduced the charges from felony grand theft to a misdemeanor. She's been given another shot in straightening her life, which she should be smart enough to grab. Aside from the four months in jail sentence, Lindsay was also sentenced to 480 hours of community service that includes 360 hours spent at the Downtown Women's Center (to expose her to how needy women lives), and 120 hours at the L.A. County morgue (so that the actress can see the results of drunk driving).

I don't know what happened to this girl. She had a bright future ahead of her - she can act, she's beautiful and sexy. Where's the sweet Lindsay I first saw in the movie, 'Parent Trap'? I still wish that she will turn her life around, just like fellow child star Drew Barrymore.

For Real?

I'm pretty sure Twilight fans will be thrilled once they see this recent picture of Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart getting cozy and kissing inside a car (FYI - they were not shooting a scene from the next Twilight movie).

Photo courtesy of tmz.com