Blog Leave

It's no biggie, really. I don't even know why I am announcing it. Siguro papansin lang, haha!

If you care to ask "bakit?", well, I want to take a break from typing things out loud. Something's been weighing me down, and I can't seem to be able to write properly. I am unsatisfied, uninspired.

Kapag naayos ko na ang dapat ayusin, I will be back. I will write again. I will blog again. I will blog hop again. Who knows, I might create a new blog. Or maybe just launch a new look. I don't know, I am still undecided. Wala lang, for a fresh new start.

I think David Cook should win American Idol

To be honest, I never liked David Cook at the start of the latest season of American Idol. I think he is too cocky, he isn’t even that talented or good-looking. Until he sang Mariah Carey’s Always Be My Baby!

(I know, this post is week late, but hey, humor me and just read on still, will ya?)

David Cook isn’t even my type (as an American Idol, okay?). He’s a rocker, I’m more of a pop, R&B and country music fan. I don’t even like most of the songs (or arrangements for that matter) that he has performed so far in the season. Well, except two songs – All Right Now performed in the Top 20 semifinal round and like I said, Always Be My Baby during the Top 7 week. I am a reluctant fan actually. Not because I still have doubts on his talent but because I feel ashamed to be rooting for him and to claim that I am a fan. I never believed in him in the beginning. I even wanted him to not make it to the Top 12. And now I have eaten my words! Haha! It doesn’t feel right to passionately root for a guy whom I dismissed just a few months ago as just another white rocker dude. (Yeah, it’s absurd, haha! But hey, I am this passionate when it comes to American Idol. I take my fanaticism seriously!)

This renewed appreciation of the other “David” and other “Cook” in the Top 12 started when he sang a few lines of Rihanna’s Don’t Stop The Music during the Idol Gives Back episode. And then the week after, he put a different but equally wonderful spin on Mariah Carey’s Always Be My Baby. (Gosh I can never say it enough, can I? Haha!)

David Archuleta, Ramiele Malubay, Michael Johns and Carly Smithson used to be my favourites to win American Idol this year, but hey, even guys are entitled to change their minds, right? Hehe! Obviously, even if I am still a great of theirs, Ramiele and Michael cannot win anymore for they have been eliminated. As for Carly, I don’t think she’s gonna win or if I’d like her to win it all. Granted that she’s talented and that she’s got the big voice, but I think we’ve got enough of American Idol divas. As for little David, well, I still think he’s a brilliant performer. I like most of his song choices. And his style is more into my taste. He is even a very nice person! But my interest in him that started with his passioned audition with John Mayer’s Waiting On The World To Change has waned over the past few weeks. I have realized, aside from being young and being guy, he doesn’t bring much anything new into the table. And that’s where David Cook comes in.

He’s a rocker. And he’s a guy! Looking at the past American Idol winners, there are more female winners. Just for the sake of variety and balance, David Cook should win, haha! And I don’t think the producers are gonna have problems with him selling records, unlike the last white guy who won American Idol. And he cried on live television! This rocker dude has a personality and a heart!

Having said this though, if David Archuleta wins, I wouldn’t be surprised or will I be so pissed off. His winning wouldn’t be so bad. Actually, I may want David Cook to win, but if most of the Top 12 this year will release albums eventually, I will most likely listen to Carly’s, little David’s, Brooke’s, Michael’s or even Kristy’s.

Let’s see what will happen.

"Universal" USB

“Everything can be connected to a USB these days”. This was my realization when I accompanied a friend to a branch of CD-R King just last week. Well, of course, technically and obviously, ‘everything’ is an exaggeration. But if you visit a computer and media shop near you, you will be surprised of the things that come with a USB plug these days.

Most techie gadgets can be connected to the USB ports of our laptops or personal computers which makes it more convenient for us to organize our ‘techie lifestyle’. Music players, digital cameras, cell phones, flash drives, etc – all of these can be readily connected. While there are some devices that cannot be directly connected to USB ports, there is a wide array of port adapters available that guess what – can be USB-connected. Indeed, the universal serial bus lives up to its name.

It’s one thing for almost all modern and technological gadgets to be connected to USB ports, but it’s another to have everyday ordinary appliances similarly connectible!

While my friend was busy buying blank DVD-Rs and other stuff, I busied myself by looking around the diverse merchandise hanging on the walls and displayed on the store’s shelves. I saw the usual array of flash drives and portable music and video players. Then there were the other USB devices – USB LAN, USB sound card, USB infrared, etc. Then I saw the USB paper shredder, USB warmer, USB massager, USB desktop fan and USB fridge. I almost laughed out loud in a mixture of amazement, surprise and disbelief. I wasn't exactly surprised about the technology and innovation behind these devices but more on the novelty of the ideas.



UPPER LEFT: the USB desktop fan; UPPER RIGHT: the USB fridge;
LOWER LEFT: the USB massager; LOWER RIGHT: the USB warmer/cooler;

So I began to wonder what would be next in this new trend of ‘technological’ innovations.

Now that we have a USB paper shredder, can a USB sharpener, USB liquid eraser and USB scissor be far behind? For more office productivity and efficiency, huh? Haha!

How about a USB coffee maker? Now that would be a great boon to workaholics!

In my case, I’d love to have a USB cell phone charger because most of the time I multi-task using my laptop and cell phone at the same time. It’s such a hassle when I’d have to use both at a time when my cell phone is charging a few feet away from my workstation at my room.

How about a USB mini-ATM? Just connect to the internet and it can be up and running. But, duh, who would replenish the bills every now and then? Haha!

Since there is already a USB desktop fan, why don't we take a step further and create a USB mini-aircon? Haha!

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I find it annoyingly funny it when people call any USB device as “USB” only. This happens most commonly when people refer to their USB flash drives. “Wuy, pahiram naman ng USB mo.” When any of my friends make the mistake, I politely correct them and explain why. It’s like one of those practices we Filipinos have where we use a popular proper name to refer to a common name (i.e., ‘Colgate’ when we mean toothpaste, ‘Xerox’ when we mean photocopying machine, etc).

How about you? Any ideas for a future USB device that would be beneficial to your lifestyle?

PS. The future USB devices I described were completely a product of my own imagination. I am not sure though if any of these actually exist already. Who knows? hehe!