You may or may not have heard of this, but the Philippines has recently been struck by a typhoon that could very well be Hurricane Katrina’s equivalent for the country. Two-level and maybe even three-level houses have been practically submerged in water in some areas of Metro Manila, the country’s capital, forcing the residents to climb up to the roofs of their home in the hopes of being rescued. As a result, a lot of people became homeless, with only the clothes on their back as their remaining possessions. They literally don’t have anything to eat and wear. As much as 200+ deaths have already been recorded, although, given that some areas still haven’t had the water subside even now, there’s a huge possibility that the count would increase. It’s really a major tragedy for the country, which is already suffering from other problems, including financial and political issues.

If you’ve heard of the news and want to help the poor victims, you can give online donations to the Philippine Red Cross by clicking here.

Have you noticed I’ve been reading a lot of stuff from Yahoo?:P

Anyway, apparently, a solar eclipse will be happening on July 22, and people (especially from India) are saying that it’s a sign of bad times. A lot of women who are scheduled to give birth (via caesarian section) on that day have requested to change the date because they believe that the baby will be born with birth defects. Violence will happen, Food becomes inedible and water undrinkable. And it gives people superpowers!

Oh wait, that’s a TV show.

Anyway, just a thought: do we really have to blame the eclipse for all these things? Aren’t these already happening (well, except the C-section and the superhero bits)in actuality? I don’t want to be grim, but with the GMOs, pollution, and violence that’s going on, forgive me for doubting that an eclipse is a harbinger of doom - it has already started to happen even before the phenomenon.

Anyway, that’s just me. I don’t really know why I’m so grim about this.

You were a legend in so many ways.

Funny news I read on Yahoo!

Apparently, in West Burlington, Iowa, an umpire throws out someone off the stadium.

Was it the pitcher? Nope.

Was it the one at bat? Nope.

Would you believe he threw out the entire crowd for "being unruly"?

The umpire, Don Briggs, said he didn’t have any problems with the players. The ones he had a problem with are the people on the stands, who he said were yelling and arguing. To add insult to injury, he also called the police as a precaution, but no arrests were made.

Wonder what the umpire experienced on his way to the stadium.

From Yahoo! news:

Mom Jodi Wykle bought a Nintendo DS from her local Wal-Mart as a birthday gift for her son, knowing that he be pleasantly surprised with the gift.

He was surprised alright, but not in a pleasant way. What he saw when he unwrapped the gift wasn’t a  handheld console, but a bunch of rocks and a Chinese newspaper.

It gets better: The mom tried contacting Wal-Mart to return it, but they refused, saying that it’s a Nintendo problem. When she contacted Nintendo, they claimed innocence. Wal-Mart only conceded in refunding it (+ a $20 gift card) when it found out that someone had angrily returned the same box of rocks earlier.

What’s your bet someone’s going to return a box of rocks with a Chinese newspaper to Wal-Mart in the next few weeks?