Movie of the Week-Lost in Paradise

Here's a second movie this week that I like very much. It is a story of male and female prostitution in Saigon, South Vietnam. It has English subtitles. It is an excellent movie if you are not homophobic. There is the side story of a mentally handicapped man and his pet duck. This side story touched my heart, indeed. It reminded me of my childhood years when I was raising a chick that think, I was his mother in the jungle of Panay Island during the American-Japanese War in the Philippines. Let me know if you like it. Lost in Paradise is a 2011 Vietnamese drama film directed by Vũ Ngọc Đãng. Its original title is Rebellious Hot Boy and the Story of Cười, the Prostitute and the Duck (Hot boy nổi loạn và câu chuyện về thằng Cười, cô gái điếm và con vịt), shortened to Rebellious Hot Boy (Hot boy nổi loạn) or simply Hot Boy. The film is set in Saigon and has two separate story lines. The first depicts a love triangle between three men, Khôi, Lam, and Đông, of whom the latter two work as prostitutes. The second concerns a mentally-handicapped man, Cười, his friendship with Hạnh, a female prostitute, and his attempts to raise a duckling. The film was a strong critical and commercial success in Vietnam. It has been shown at several international festivals, from which it garnered more mixed reviews. In particular its portrayal of homosexuality has been noted as ground breaking within the context of Vietnamese cinema.

A Journey to the Center of your Mind- A Video

The other day, I received this video from a member of the Philippine American Academy of Science and Engineering(PAASE) regarding the brain and its function. This is one of the most interesting video talk I have viewed for quite sometime. Listened to it and tell me if you agree. This lecture is by Vilayanur Ramachandran an excellent speaker and sponsored by TEDTalks. Vilayanur Ramachandran tells us what brain damage can reveal about the connection between celebral tissue and the mind, using three startling delusions as examples. TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers are invited to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes -- including speakers such as Jill Bolte Taylor, Sir Ken Robinson, Hans Rosling, Al Gore and Arthur Benjamin. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, politics and the arts.

Facebook Stock is still going downhill as I Predicted

I have been posting several updates on what is going on about FaceBook stocks, since its offerring at $38 per share. I felt at that time that the price was too high and FB stocks was not a good long term investment. So far, I am right on the money. I still will not buy FB stocks until it goes down below $20 per share. Here's the latest news on FB from CNN Money Magazine. Facebook is finally a buy at ..(about $8 per Share?) By Paul R. La Monica May 29, 2012: Are you ready to take a spin? Even though the highest number on a roulette wheel is 36, fund managers say Facebook stock may not get back there anytime soon. Facebook shares continue to plummet. Shares were down nearly 7% Tuesday, falling below the $30 level. The stock is now more than 20% below its offering price of $38. That makes it officially a bear market for the social network. But guess what? It's likely to get worse for Facebook (FB) before it gets better. It's easier to make that case now, since we are starting to get a slow trickle of earnings and revenue forecasts for Facebook. Analysts at firms who were underwriters for the IPO are not allowed to officially start coverage on the stock for another few weeks -- although it looks like bearish remarks from lead banker Morgan Stanley (MS) have already led to shareholder lawsuits. Brokerages that were not part of the Facebook offering are free to issue reports on the stock. Because of the intense interest in Zuckerberg & Co., there already is a critical mass of coverage and earnings estimates. Ten analysts have earnings forecasts for 2012. Related: Wall Street losses mount on Facebook IPO For what it's worth, the median price target on the stock is $42, 40% higher than the current price. Analysts are forecasting earnings growth, on average, over the next three to five years of about 36% a year. In other words, Facebook has a lot to live up to in order to satisfy Wall Street's so-called sell side. That's why many investors are still shying away from the stock. I spoke with four fund managers Tuesday who all have big exposure to the tech sector. Not one of them said they are tempted to buy Facebook's stock yet. They all said the shares remain extremely overvalued. "We have not invested in Facebook. Here's the reason: Growth expectations are high, and the company would have had to do a number things flawlessly to meet them over the next few years. There is no point investing in them this early," said Sunil Reddy, portfolio manager with Apex Capital Management in Dayton, Ohio. Reddy said that he prefers Google (GOOG) to Facebook. Google trades at just 13.7 times 2012 earnings estimates. If you take that multiple and apply it to Facebook's consensus earnings estimate of 55 cents a share for 2012, you get a Facebook stock price of only $7.56! That's nearly 75% below its current price. Facebook's stock has not been well received since its IPO. Some fund managers think the stock could fall a lot more before it becomes a bargain. Of course, that probably is too bearish of a prediction. Facebook is still a solid company with strong growth prospects. It's not a fly-by-night tech destined for obsolescence; it just didn't deserve to be worth more than $100 billion on day 1 as a public company.

Buying FaceBook Stocks is a Risky Business

I finally had a chance in reading FaceBook IPO offerring prospectus. The following is a warning and the risks a consumer had to gamble in purchasing FB stocks. I still believe FB stocks are not good for long term investments ( see my previous postings on this subject) Risks Related to Our Business and Industry (FaceBook) "If we fail to retain existing users or add new users, or if our users decrease their level of engagement with Facebook, our revenue, financial results, and business may be significantly harmed. The size of our user base and our users’ level of engagement are critical to our success. We had 901 million monthly active users (MAUs) as of March 31, 2012. Our financial performance has been and will continue to be significantly determined by our success in adding, retaining, and engaging active users. We anticipate that our active user growth rate will decline over time as the size of our active user base increases, and as we achieve higher market penetration rates. To the extent our active user growth rate slows, our business performance will become increasingly dependent on our ability to increase levels of user engagement in current and new markets. If people do not perceive our products to be useful, reliable, and trustworthy, we may not be able to attract or retain users or otherwise maintain or increase the frequency and duration of their engagement. A number of other social networking companies that achieved early popularity have since seen their active user bases or levels of engagement decline, in some cases precipitously. There is no guarantee that we will not experience a similar erosion of our active user base or engagement levels. A decrease in user retention, growth, or engagement could render Facebook less attractive to developers and advertisers, which may have a material and adverse impact on our revenue, business, financial condition, and results of operations. Any number of factors could potentially negatively affect user retention, growth, and engagement, including if: • users increasingly engage with competing products; • we fail to introduce new and improved products or if we introduce new products or services that are not favorably received; • we are unable to successfully balance our efforts to provide a compelling user experience with the decisions we make with respect to the frequency, prominence, and size of ads and other commercial content that we display; • we are unable to continue to develop products for mobile devices that users find engaging, that work with a variety of mobile operating systems and networks, and that achieve a high level of market acceptance; • there are changes in user sentiment about the quality or usefulness of our products or concerns related to privacy and sharing, safety, security, or other factors; • we are unable to manage and prioritize information to ensure users are presented with content that is interesting, useful, and relevant to them; • there are adverse changes in our products that are mandated by legislation, regulatory authorities, or litigation, including settlements or consent decrees; • technical or other problems prevent us from delivering our products in a rapid and reliable manner or otherwise affect the user experience;" Buying FB stocks is indeed very risky. But if you want to gamble, that is up to you. Do not tell me, I told you so!

Do Filipino Women Makes Good Wives?

The answer to the above question is ayes and a no. However, in general Filipino women do become good wives if you are a good husband yourself. I am married to a Filipina who grew up in the US, and I could definitely say, she is an excellent wife, because I am a good husband. Marriage is not a one side proposition whether your mate is a Filipina or not. It takes two to make a good marriage. Speaking of marrying a Filipina, I found the following article very interesting and realistic. It is "must read" for those who are looking for a Filipina mate. Answer the 20 questions and calculate your score. Question #20 is my own question. If you score high, a Filipina woman is in your future and good luck! So You Want to Marry a Filipina? Why? Don't get me wrong, I think it's a great decision for many men, but definitely not for everyone. Too often Filipinas are tossed into that broad and meaningless category of "Asian Women." Why do I say meaningless? Typically that category would include Filipino, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Thai, and Malaysian women, amongst many, many others. Yet these people have different languages, different ethnicities, different religions, and different cultures. About the only thing they have in common is that they can see the same ocean if the make it to the beach. For that reason I discourage any man from marrying a Filipina simply because he has some mythical notion (which the Internet tends to perpetuate) that all women from that area of the world are pretty much the same. Anyway, here's a little test for you prospective husbands. There are two aims here: first, to determine how much you actually know about your prospective wife's homeland and culture, and two, to check your ability to deal with certain nuances once the marriage is official. Be honest, because you're the only person who knows your score, and there aren't any cash prizes! 1. Have you ever been to the Philippines? 2.. Can you find the Philippines on a map? 3. Can you list three languages, other than English, spoken in the Philippines? 4. What are the three primary religions/denominations in the Philippines? 5. When did the Philippines become a U.S. colony? When did it become fully independent? 6. Why do Filipinos typically have Spanish names? 7. Do you plan on having children? Preferably several? 8. Are you at all reluctant to accept your new wife's family as your own, and if not, are you prepared to provide financial assistance to your new, extended family when they need it for schooling, medical care, or food? 9. Are you tolerant of superstitions? 10. Do you like soy sauce, garlic, and fried foods? 11. Do you like raw fish? 12. What is the preferred utensil when eating? Silverware, chopsticks, none? 13. Do you know how to bow properly? 14. Do you anticipate that your wife will be submissive and obedient? 15. Are you getting married basically for the sex? Be honest now! 16. If you are not Catholic, and your wife is, how will you raise your children? 17. What is the difference between a Tagalog, Ilocono, Zambal, and Visayan? 18. How does a Filipina differ from a Japanese woman? A Thai woman? Why does that make her a better choice for you? 19. Are you marrying a Filipina because you pretty much hate the women of your own country? 20. ( My own question): Do you know of anyone with Filipino roots in their ancestry? Answers and comments: 1. Have you ever been to the Philippines? Yes=5 pts. 2. Can you find the Philippines on a map? Yes=1 pt. 3. Can you list three languages, other than English, spoken in the Philippines? 1 pt for each language. Examples: Tagalog, Ilocono, Visayan, Cebuano, Zambal, etc. 4. What are the three primary religions/denominations in the Philippines? 83% Roman Catholic, 9% Protestant, 5% Muslim. 5 pts if you selected these three correctly (percentages are not, of course, required for a correct answer). 5. When did the Philippines become a U.S. colony? When did it become fully independent? 1899, 1946. 5 pts. for each date. 6. Why do Filipinos typically have Spanish names? The Spanish Friars forced the native Filipinos to take Spanish names during the Spanish colonial period. When the Spanish arrived the local priests & friars began to baptize the local people into the catholic church and undertook the first registration of births, marriages and deaths, this way they could effectively manage their new congregations. Naturally, they did not consider names like Lapu Lapu to be very Christian, so they gave baptized them with new Spanish names. Correct answer=3 pts. 7. Do you plan on having children? How many? 1 pt for each child. 8. Are you at all reluctant to accept your new wife's family as your own, and if not, are you prepared to provide financial assistance to your new, extended family when they need it for schooling, medical care, or food? If you're prepared to help your in-laws, financially, as if they were your own family, give yourself 4 pts. 9. Are you tolerant of superstitions? Yes=2 pts. 10. Do you like soy sauce, garlic, and fried foods? Yes=5 pts, No=(-5 pts) 11. Do you like raw fish? Yes=(-5 pts). Trick question. 90% of Filipinos don't. One site visitor tells me that on Mindanao, kinilaw (with raw fish) is very popular, but if you know what kinilaw is, you shouldn't be taking this test anyway! Some Americans eat raw beef, too, but it's not the norm. /> 12. What is the preferred utensil when eating? Silverware, chopsticks, none? None. Finger foods include rice and just about everything else. Silverware is used selectively, and chopsticks not at all (at least no more than any American might use them). None=5 pts, Silverware=1 pt. 13. Do you know how to bow properly? Yes=(-2 pts).Trick question. Filipinos don't bow. If you were thinking of the "mano po" gesture, give yourself +2pts instead. If you don't know what that means, you don't get the points, and it wouldn't hurt you to figure it out before you meet the girl's parents! 14. Do you anticipate that your wife will be submissive and obedient? No=2 pts. Filipinas are generally non-confrontational, but that should not be mistaken as submissive. They are simply more sophisticated in getting you to do what they want you to do. They may hesitate to challenge you in front of other people, also, to save you from embarrassment. Even when you are clearly off your rocker. 15. Are you getting married basically for the sex? Be honest now! No=5 pts. Sex is part of marriage (well, most marriages), but what do you plan on doing with the other 96% of your day? She's not going anywhere, you know. She might even want to talk to you! 16. If you are not Catholic, and your wife is, how will you raise your children? Just something to think about. No points either way. You'll both have to decide, and the odds are that she's more devoted to her religion than you are to yours, so be prepared for some soul-searching on this matter. 17. What is the difference between a Tagal, Ilocono, Zambal, and Visayan? These are ethnic divisions within the Philippines, each with its own distinctive culture, foods, and language. In the last century the divisions were referred to as "tribes." But don't be misled. Tagals, Zambals, etc., are not rivals, at least not in modern times. A Filipina can maintain her local ancestral heritage and still happily remain "Filipino." Comparing these groups is not unlike comparing Southerners to Californians to New Englanders in the U.S. 5 pts if you got this one right. 18. How does a Filipina differ from a Japanese woman? A Thai woman? For one thing, unless she's from Mindanao, odds are that she's a very devoted Christian. She's probably got Spanish, Malaysian, and Chinese blood in her, and possibly even American. In general, she speaks excellent English. Filipinas come from a nation that is very western. In fact, after centuries of Spanish and American rule, the Philippines more closely resembles Mexico than Japan or China. If you got the general idea right, give yourself 5 pts. Why does that make her a better choice for you? That's for you to decide. No points. 19. Are you marrying a Filipina because you pretty much hate the women of your own country? Yes= (- 25 pts). I know that sounds like a rather draconian penalty, but you have to realize that hating an entire gender, even within the confines of a single country, just isn't reasonable. Odds are that your mom, grandmother, and sister weren't Filipinas, right? Did you hate them, too? It's one thing to say that you believe that you'll have a greater chance of finding the woman you want in the Philippines, but it's quite another to say that all the woman from your own homeland are unworthy of marriage. If you're marrying a Filipina, it should be because of who she is, not who she is not. That she isn't from your own homeland in no way guarantees she will be any more suitable for you than any other woman. 20. If he or she is a closed friend, add +5 pts. If he or she is just a casual acquaintance, add +3 pts. If you have not met any one with Filipino roots/ancestry, deduct-3 pts. Calculating your Score (below) 60+ pts : Either you're from the Philippines or you're already married to a Filipina. If not, you certainly did your homework! Congratulations! 40-59pts: Not bad at all. I'd proceed with my plans if I were you, but it wouldn't hurt to educate yourself a little bit about the Philippines. 20-39pts: Hmmm...average showing. Well, at least you've got the knowledge and qualifications it would take to pull this off, but I think you might meditate a bit longer before committing yourself. 01-19pts: Is it Philippines or Phillippines or Phillipines? Danger! Danger! 0 and below: This can only end in disaster, you realize. Source: www.asawa.org

My 12 types of FaceBook Friends

As of today, I have more than 600 FaceBook friends. I could categorized them into 12 types as follows: 1. The photographer- this type shares his numerous photographs, sometimes excellent photos but often times boring photographs of himself and others 2. The Inspiration, Romantic and Religious- this type shares all the romantic, inspiring and religious poems, sayings and articles 3. The Lover and Exhibitionist- this type share his or her daily love life and activities, including what they are planning for their dating activities and how she felt after their love-making 4. The Gossiper- this type share all the gossips about his or her family as well as his relatives and friends 5. The Stalker-this type stalks and follows the posting of his friends and seldom make comments, but just click the “LIKE” button 6. The Tagger-this type love tagging almost everybody in his circle of friends 7. The Video Sharer- this type like to share videos from You Tube, Vimeos and other news sources in the Internet 8. The Complainer-This type shares and bents all the aches and pains of her daily life-beats seeing a psychiatrist 9. The Publisher and Writer- this type shares all his/her writings from several writing sites. 10. The Historian-this types loves to share historical events, articles and photographs 11. The Game Player- this type do not talk much, but just play games-at least contributing to FB income 12. The Dumb, the Innocent and the Immature- this type always make dumb comments, sometimes does not say a word, but just type: he, he, he or ha, ha, ha! He/She thinks its funny, it is not, it tells me you are dumb, childish and an immature person. Which type do you belong ?. Perhaps you are a combination of several types. I love all of you, except type # 11, since I do not play games in FB as well as type #12.