About a month and a half ago, I spent my weekend at the ultra-posh Amanpulo West Villa in Palawan.

It was, by far the most spectacular place I have ever been to (by myself). I’ve uploaded 39 unbelievable Amanpulo photos onto my Flickr account; please swing by and take a look, and perhaps comment on them.

This shot is one of the few photos that I did not take. My friend Alfie took the shot, and I haven’t been able to get over it. There are many more Amanpulo photos over at my Flickr, so please feel free to visit and comment. You can also view the pictures on my Multiply site.

A book. I started on a new book last night. Titled How to Be a Man of Character in a World of Compromise, this devotional book from Richard Exley details how godly men can build for themselves a solid foundation of character and integrity. It takes its lessons from the Bible’s book of Proverbs.

I am looking forward to learning a lot, especially in light of last week’s Blog Parteeh. I don’t think I made the best impression.

A bib. I uploaded a new design onto FaithFactor. It’s a bib featuring FaithFactor’s resident cartoon sheep. The text reads, “I am the sheep and Jesus Christ is my shepherd.” If you’d like to purchase one, it retails for only US$8.00. Support Christian designers!

A bruise. Cathy sprained her foot early yesterday. Combine that with all the nausea and dizziness, and you’ve got yourself a recipe for two stay-at-home parents. Nathan spent the entire day in front of my desktop, playing on Orisinal.

Baby Names. Meanwhile, Baby Deen #2 has started to kick. Cathy finds it a bit discomfiting, but this baby seems to be a fighter. In about two months, we’ll go for that ultrasound and find out if Nathan’s sibling is going to be a boy or a girl. We’ve TONS of potential baby names, especially since we’re hedging on the original names we came up with. My shortlist, which Cathy has neither seen nor approved, includes:

• BOYS
  • Nicklaus. The strongest contender for a boy’s name, since it’s similar to my Dad’s name, Nicholas, and is English for “victorious.”
  • Noah. I like going with a Biblical name. It’s Hebrew for “rest.”
  • Nolan. It’s Gaelic for “famous.” When I hear Nolan, I see a well-adjusted, good-looking guy. What do you see?
• GIRLS
  • Caitlin. Cathy’s always loved this name. It’s Irish for “pure soul.”
  • Catharine. I like this because it’s a variation of Cathy’s name. English for “pure.”
  • Charlize. Nothing to do with Ms. Theron, but it is a pretty name that means “beautiful star” in South African.
  • Nichol, Nicole, Nichole, or Nicolle. “Victorious” in English. Female version of Nicholas, really, again, paying tribute to my father.
  • And finally, my dark horse for a girl’s name starting with “N”: Nitika. It’s Indian for “angel.” It’s so left of center, but I find it such a beautiful name. Her nickname can be Nikki, which still is an homage to my dad. Cathy would never approve, though.

What do you think? Any baby name suggestions, preferably starting with N or C?

Based on last night’s BlogParteeh, here are 10 reasons to prove why there is a God:

10. Got to meet, greet, and take photos with the bloggers on my wish list, including Noemi, Abe, and Migs.

9. Joni was thinking she’d have no one to hang out with. Turns out my wallflower officemate ended up becoming Ms Popular. Who would’ve thunk?

8. Apparently, some people thought I was noisy and obnoxious boisterous. I’m sorry, was I? That’s great; I thought people would think I was shy and demure. (Nothing kills a party like silent people. What, you wanna sit around and stare at each other?)

7. Three whole Christians and one atheist at a table, and no food fight. Lord, ang galing Ninyo.

6. There are people who blog about good things in this world. Kudos to you, Jun.

5. I got a picture with BO SANCHEZ! Hahahaha! This man rocks my socks! And check out the photos - the holy man matched me wide grin for wide grin!
4. I sat at the luckiest most God-blessed table ever. Like, everyone at my table won a prize. Geri took home too many prizes to count.

3. The winner of the I-Pod, AJ, accepted his prize in the coolest way ever - arms on sides, head slightly tilted, with that, well, yeah, so here I am, sorry folks, my prize grin on this face. There is a God because the winner wasn’t some boisterous person who felt entitled to it. I wish I was half as droll.

2. I won the prize I wanted. Sure, I didn’t win the IPod, nor the classy speakers. But the one prize I did want, I got. I won the Bubba Gump gift cert! Yummy shrimp meal, here I come!

And the number one reason why there is a God…

1.  Benj and I didn’t end up killing each other (well, he would’ve killed me if there weren’t too many witnesses). Turns out that he’s not as… um… freakishly scary as I thought. No knives or anything. I left the party feeling much, much better. That still won’t stop me from whupping his ass on PEx when he gets all vitriolic.

Click here to see my full set of BlogParteeh photos.

While Mike Abundo challenges flamers to a fight, I find myself mulling over the real-time possibility that is bound to happen tomorrow:

I’m going to meet Benj. *deep breaths*

Benj is an old online nemesis (hahaha!). One thing that has made this guy so irresistible to me as a blogger is his ability to push my buttons, usually not in the way I’d like my buttons pushed, if you know what I mean. Benj tells it like it is, and sometimes a lot of times, I don’t like being told like it is. This latest post is one such example. Read more

Okay, so maybe American Idol Season Five fourth placer Chris Daughtry didn’t literally kick season winner Taylor Hicks where the sun don’t shine, but it sure feels like it. Daughtry’s band’s self-titled debut album topped the Billboard 200 this week with a 130-copy lead over the original soundtrack of Dreamgirls, selling over 65,000 copies, according to Soundscan. Where is Hicks’ debut album? Moved up three notches to #50.

In its ninth week on the chart, Daughtry’s RCA album has established two records of sorts: it is the fastest-selling debut by a rock artist in history, and it is the first album by an American Idol non-Top Two finalist to top the Billboard 200. Idols who have topped the Billboard 200 are Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, and his runner-up Clay Aiken; all remaining Idol winners and runners-up, including Justin Guarini, Fantasia, Diana DeGarmo, Carrie Underwood, Bo Bice, Taylor Hicks, and, for now, Katherine McPhee, have not topped the albums chart.

Of course, there are some factors to take into consideration here. It is the third week in a row that the #1 album on the Billboard 200 has sold less than 100,000 copies. You’d have to go back to the early 1990s to see those kinds of relatively low sales figures. You could also take into consideration that Daughtry has a hit single, It’s Not Over, that’s burning up the modern rock and Top 40 formats; RCA continues to hedge on sending a Hicks single to radio, which will continue to hurt Taylor’s chances of long-term success on the album charts.

Meanwhile, in other American Idol Season Five alum news, Bucky Covington’s new Lyric Street single A Different World has been serviced to country radio and is now #47 on the Radio and Records country chart; Paris Bennett has a new 306 Entertainment single, Ordinary Love, that’s being serviced to R&B formats; and Mandisa Hundley has signed up with Sparrow Records for a gospel album to be released late this year or early next year (her MySpace page features the delightful light acoustic toe-tapper Redeemer, a track on the album Beth Moore Presents: Songs of Deliverance.

If you’re looking for an affordable dentist in Makati, I’ll like to recommend my Makati dentist, Dr Joseph Jon Catipon, DMD.

Dr. Catipon - you can call him Jay - is extremely professional, with a light touch, a steady hand, and a good sense of humor. Little pain is to be felt in Dr. Catipon’s chair because he is just soooo funny, and he’ll talk you through to distract you.

Like other dentists in Makati, he practices general dentistry, but Dr. Catipon specializes in orthodontics and TMJ.

You can visit the Catipon dental clinic in Makati at 202 NAF Building (in front of Makati Cinema Square), 2296 Chino Roces St., Makati City. You can call up him up at 381-4867, text him at 0918-908-4934, or email him at mjaycat at yahoo dot com. This Makati dental clinic’s hours are from 10AM to 7PM, Monday to Saturday.

Trust me - Dr. Catipon is worth every centavo, and you’ll find yourself getting more value for your peso with him than at most other dental clinics in Makati.

In sum: Dreamgirls is a special surprise; Christian Bautista surprises; local recording industry is dying, to no one’s surprise

Last night, Cathy pulled a truly pleasant surprise on me. After I kept her waiting for an hour and a half after an all-day meeting I attended went into serious overtime, she met up with me in the evening with a gift bag sealed with tape.

“Open it,” she said gleefully.

I did, and discovered my wife purchased a (legit) copy of the soundtrack to Dreamgirls.

I have the best wife ever!

We listened to it on the way home, and the album is spectacular. Jennifer Hudson steals the show, naturally, with a natural flair and sass to accompany that God-given voice. Give the woman an Academy Award! She’s just phenomenal, especially on It’s All Over, And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going, I Am Changing, and One Night Only.

Eddie Murphy is a revelation: we all knew he could sing, but come on, Murphy is Early Thunder, and his voice is completely different from his wisecracking Donkey days. Foxx and Knowles are reliably good, as are Sharon Leal and Loretta Devine.

On a related note, Cathy purchased for herself the new Christian Bautista album, Just a Love Song… Christian Bautista Live! Like his Warner labelmate before him, Nina, Bautista croons his way through 20-something ballads and the occasional mid-tempo track. Bautista’s voice has gotten more solid with experience, and he digs into the revivals with aplomb and style. Be sure to listen to his career-defining takes on the back-to-back tracks Blue Eyes Blue and Cry for Help.

The reality singing competition finalist - who has gone on to bigger things than 95% of all other finalists in all local televised singing competitions combined - proves himself the should’ve-been-winner with this album. He can sound just as good live as he does on his studio albums. He’s the Jennifer Hudson of local reality competitions.

What is the hitch on Just a Love Song…? Unfortunately, just like Nina, Warner Music gives us virtually all revivals. That’s right. The entire album is one gigantic hodge-podge of second-rate backburning hits from the 70s through 2006. Is Just a Love Song a revival? I’m not sure, but if it isn’t, well, are we supposed to rejoice for one breadcrumb of original music amidst an entire pie of rehashed hits?

I respect both artists, but must chastise Warner for not including a single song from these singers’ catalog of original music. This is what is killing the industry, from critical and financial standpoints - Philippine artists aren’t releasing originals anymore! Bakit puro revival?!

Ironically, Nina’s latest single, Someday, is not a revival, and it’s receiving massive amounts of airplay. How many people would kill to hear a live version of Someday?