Northern Downpour (Panic at the Disco)

If all our life is but a dream
Fantastic posing greed
Then we should feed our jewelery to the sea
For diamonds do appear to be
Just like broken glass to me

And then she said she can't believe
Genius only comes along
In storms of fabled foreign tongues
Tripping eyes, and flooded lungs
Northern downpour sends its love

Hey moon, please forget to fall down
Hey moon, don't you go down

Sugarcane in the easy mornin'
Weathervanes my one and lonely

The ink is running toward the page
It's chasin' off the days
Look back at boat feet
And that winding knee
I missed your skin when you were east
You clicked your heels and wished for me

Through playful lips made of yarn
That fragile Capricorn
Unraveled words like moths upon old scarves
I know the world's a broken bone
But melt your headaches, call it home

Hey moon, please forget to fall down
Hey moon, don't you go down

Sugarcane in the easy mornin'
Weathervanes my one and lonely
Sugarcane in the easy mornin'
Weathervanes my one and lonely
Sugarcane in the easy mornin'
Weathervanes my one and lonely

Sugarcane (hey moon) in
(Hey moon) the easy mornin'
Weathervanes (hey moon) my
(Hey moon) one and lonely

Sugarcane (hey moon) in (hey moon)
The easy (hey moon) mornin'
Weathervanes (hey moon) my (hey moon)
One (hey moon) and lonely

[Continues in background:]
Sugarcane (hey moon) in (hey moon)
The easy (hey moon) mornin'
Weathervanes (hey moon) my (hey moon)
One (hey moon) and lonely

Hey moon, please forget to fall down
Hey moon, don't you go down
You are at the top of my lungs
Drawn to the ones who never yawn

Hey moon, please forget to fall down
Hey moon, don't you go down
You are at the top of my lungs
Drawn to the ones who never yawn

Single Ladies (lyrics) – Beyonce

All the single ladies (7x)
Now put your hands up
Up in the club, just broke up
I’m doing my own little thing
Decided to dip but now you wanna trip
Cuz another brother noticed me
I’m up on him, he up on me
Don’t pay him any attention
Cried my tears, three good years
Ya can’t be mad at me[Chorus]
Cuz if you liked it then you should have put a ring on it
If you liked it then you should have put a ring on it
Don’t be mad once you see that he want it
If you liked it then you should have put a ring on it

(Chorus)
I put gloss on my lips, a man on my hips
Hold me tighter than my Dereon jeans
Acting up, drink in my cup
I could care less what you think
I need no permission, did I mention
Don’t pay him any attention
Cuz you had your turn
But now you gonna learn
What it really feels to miss me

(Chorus)

Don’t treat me like things of this world
I’m not that kind of girl
Your love is what I prefer, what I deserve
He’s a man that makes me and takes me
And delivers me to a destiny, to infinity and beyond
Pull me into your arms
Say I’m not the one you own
If you don’t, you’ll be alone
And like a ghost, I’ll be gone

All the single ladies (7x)
Now put your hands up

(Chorus)

They

They say I should wear orange. Too bright for me.

They say go out with us.  Ain’t too sociable.

They say eat with us. Too expensive.

They say I  mustn’t be silent. I’m a man of few words.

They say I must know that. I really do.

They say don’t be silly. Who isn’t?

They say I can do it. They did. I didn’t.

They say be happy. I’m sad at times.

They say don’t refuse. I don’t know how.

They say I’m funny. They knew I am.

They say I’m a good friend. Can’t feel they are.

…

So…

I’m looking for another THEY.

State of Nothingness

5-minute reality suspension.

Traveling in mind.

Dark room. White spotlights.

Endless road.

Countless faces. Fruitless vices.

Nothing to expect but nothing.

No one to mind but no one.

Everyone isn’t there but you.

Nonesense. Fun. Adventure.

Full of surprises.

But mind you, it’s fulfilling.

Down to the spine, it’s relaxing.

The best.

Tireless backpacking.

No strenuous mountain climbing.

Jogging without sweating.

Jumping without moving.

Walk is a wingless fly.

The road is an endless sky.

You’re in a different kind of high.

Vital Signs – Designer Babies

Bring your partner, grab a seat, pick up your baby catalog and start choosing.

Would you be comfortable selecting what cosmetic features you want your baby to have?

Will you go for the brown hair or blond? Would you prefer tall or short? Funny or clever? Girl or boy? And do you want them to be a muscle-bound sports hero? Or a slender and intelligent book worm?

When you’re done selecting, head to the counter and it’s time to start creating your new child.

Does this sound like a scary thought?

With rapid advances in scientific knowledge of the human genome and our increasing ability to modify and change genes, this scenario of “designing” your baby could well be possible in the near future.

Techniques of genetic screening are already being used — whereby embryos can be selected by sex and checked for certain disease-bearing genes. This can lead to either the termination of a pregnancy, or if analyzed at a pre-implantation stage when using In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), can enable the pregnancy to be created using only non-disease bearing genes.

British scientists last week developed a “genetic MoT” test, which offers a universal method of screening embryos for diseases using a new technique of karyomapping, which is more efficient than previous processes.

The test would be taken on a two-day-old IVF embryo and is yet to be validated, but it could mark a significant change; allowing doctors to screen for gene combinations that create higher risks of diabetes, heart disease or cancer.

Experts estimate the test, if licensed by the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority, could be available for around $3000.

In the future we may also be able to “cure” genetic diseases in embryos by replacing faulty sections of DNA with healthy DNA, in a process called germ line therapy. This has been performed on animal embryos but is currently illegal for humans.

Furthermore, the developing technologies of genetic alteration open up a whole new set of possibilities — which could result in so-called “designer babies.”

The technique — known as inheritable genetic modification — modifies genes in eggs, sperm or early embryos and results in the altered genes being passed on to future generations. Should parents be allowed to create their babies?

This could potentially irreversibly alter the human species. So, the obvious question arises: should we be doing this?

Some countries have made genetic screening or alteration illegal by law, and the ethical questions surrounding the uses of the technology are vast — creating a palpable tension over the subject.

Don’t Miss

• Just Imagine: 2020
• Future workplaces
• Homes of the future

In September, Internet giants Google and Microsoft withdrew adverts for sex selection products and other services considered illegal in India when they were threatened with legal action.

The Center for Genetics and Society is trying to encourage debate on the topic — as soon as possible.

Executive director of the organization, Richard Hayes, told CNN that the general public of most countries was missing out on taking part in the debate.

“The debate has taken place amongst scientists and science journalists, but average people feel overwhelmed with the technical detail. They feel disempowered.”

Hayes said his organization supported the use of embryo screening to help prevent the passing on of serious diseases and disorders like Cystic Fibrosis, but is wary of other technologies and how genetic screening and alteration can be misused.

“We support the use of that to allow couples at risk to have healthy children. But for non-medical, cosmetic purposes, we believe this would undermine humanity and create a techno-eugenic rat race,” Hayes said.

He said there were immense amounts of resources being poured into developing gene altering techniques and no laws in many countries to stop them from starting clinics that could offer selected cosmetic traits.

“As technology advances it is possible that any number of human characteristics in part influenced by genes could come under human control. Right now there is an enormous amount of research being conducted to correlate specific genes with specific characteristics.”

One of the organizations researching genetic alteration is the University of California Irvine’s Sue and Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center.

Professor of biological chemistry and developmental and cell biology, and co-director of the Center, Peter Donovan, feels the research could have massive benefits.

After his team discovered a greatly improved method for genetically manipulating human embryonic stem cells earlier this year, Donovan said:

“The ability to generate large quantities of cells with altered genes opens the door to new research into many devastating disorders.

“Not only will it allow us to study diseases more in-depth, it also could be a key step in the successful development of future stem cell therapies,” Donovan

But according to Hayes the potential for misuse of this technology could have dire consequences for the human race.

“This runs many risks. It’s used in many countries to avoid the birth of female children.

“The technologies are going to be accessible to affluent couples and would be used in ways that could increase inequality. The last thing we need now is a genetic elite.

“This designing aspect would also lead to an objectification of children as commodities.”

Hayes said it was important that people began debating the issues now so the correct “rules, regulations and regulatory oversights” could be established before the technology was complete and accessible.

YOUTUBE – on Their Go to Movies.

NEW YORK — For months, YouTube has been making a pitch to Hollywood studios: Give us your films, and we’ll make you money.

The studios balked. Sure, they reasoned, YouTube had a massive audience of 74 million monthly users. But the Google- (GOOG, Fortune 500)owned site only wanted to give them a share of its ad revenues. It wasn’t offering them any money upfront.

Now Hollywood is warming up to the Internet’s top video site. On Monday, YouTube will announce an ad-revenue sharing deal with MGM – home of James Bond, the Pink Panther and Rocky – that will let the site show full-length movies for the first time from a major Hollywood studio.

Jordan Hoffner, YouTube’s head of content partnerships, called the agreement a “watershed moment’ for the company: “We are really happy about MGM. They have an incredible library.”

It’s easy to understand why YouTube is excited. Founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen want the site to be more than just a destination for clips of skateboarding dogs, experiments involving Mentos and Diet Coke and the occasional Simpson episode that needs to be taken down immediately because of copyright infringement.

After all, there are only so many ads YouTube can put into a short clip like “Tiger vs. Bear.” A feature-length film like “Rocky IV” has room from many more marketing messages.

The site is already showing full-length independent movies like “Harold Buttelman, Daredevil Stuntman.” Now YouTube can boast that it has the kind of big budget movies that people can watch on Hulu.com., News Corp (NWS, Fortune 500).’s partnership with NBC Universal. (GE, Fortune 500)

There’s only one catch. MGM – owned by an investor group led by Providence Equity Partners, Sony and Comcast (CMST) – will only be posting only a few of its 4,000 movies on YouTube at first.

“I don’t think you are going to be seeing a James Bond movie on YouTube,” said Jim Packer, MGM’s co-president of worldwide television. “That’s a very special franchise for us. We are very cautions about where we put those movies.”

He said MGM would offer lesser-known movies that aren’t as easy to sell to television networks and on DVD. Its initially plan is to share films it also shows on Impact, its video-on-demand cable partnership with Comcast devoted to action movies.

The first MGM movie to go up on YouTube will be a Lone Wolf McQuade, a Chuck Norris vehicle, “Bulletproof Monk,” starring Chow Yun-Fat.

Packer said MGM is also thinking about creating a special YouTube site for women to show films like “Fame” and television shows from its vault such as “Cagney & Lacey.”

The YouTube deal would enable MGM to both make money on such less-sought-after content and also promote its DVD and theatrical releases, according to Packer.

“YouTube has a lot of traffic,” he said. “It’s no different from being in Wal-Mart. You want to be in a store that has a lot of traffic.”

Hoffner says YouTube expects to reach similar agreements soon with other movie studios. He points out that the site already has content-sharing partnerships with television networks like CBS (CBS, Fortune 500), BBC Worldwide, Fox, Showtime and HBO.

“We’ve launched longer form content, and the monetization is really kicking in,” Hoffner says. “This is a good time to get a partner like MGM up and run

Banila – The Real Deal

NO, he’s not a cyber-stalker. Or a group of psychology students doing a project. Or the government in disguise. Pablo Banila is a real person, but he’s not the crazy lowlife that people thought he was.

When the first Pablo Banila article came out in 2bU two weeks ago, we were swamped with hundreds of letters and blog comments from readers. The sentiments expressed in the mail were varied; they ranged from “Pablo Banila gives me the chills too,” to “He’s a psycho who not only views my Multiply site, but Friendster as well,” to “He’s actually a genius who was just misunderstood.”

Most of the readers were curious about his identity and wanted to know who he was, while a few thought an article about him was a waste of precious newspaper space. “Argh, you gave him more attention!” said a friend, wringing his hands. Another said, “Unbelievable, you made him famous! But in any case, he still gives off bad vibes and he’s still flooding my viewing history page with his gazillion accounts.” A blog reader was more blunt, saying, “Big deal. Slow news day?”

But in either case, Pablo Banila certainly caught your attention—and apparently, the article caught his too, because he e-mailed 2bU to give the real deal on his identity. He had explained his intentions in a UP Multiply blog at http://yoopee.multiply.com/journal/item/4805, but only a handful of internet users knew about it (compared to the millions of sites that he “visited”).

Pablo Banila—Paolo Bantolo in real life—has been called many names in the past couple of months, and a lot of them weren’t too nice. “Creepy” was the first thing that came to mind when Multiply and Friendster users first saw the avatar that showed a guy with matted chin-length hair and a sign that flashed, “Yes, Pablo Banila has a crush on you hahahaha! That’s why he viewed your homepage, cute nun!”

The reactions that the avatar elicited were interesting. Initially, people truly believed that the mysterious Pablo Banila had a crush on them, gender notwithstanding—until they visited his site and realized that they were duped.

“Before I opened up a guestbook, there were three general reactions from three kinds of people,” said Bantolo in an e-mail interview. “First, from the genuinely curious—people asking me if they do know me; in other words, people who did not bother reading my profile, the naked confession of everything I am.”

He added, “[The next were] from the genuinely infatuated—schoolgirls and baby boys telling me that I can be their boyfriend anytime! The rest were people with a sense of humor. Interestingly, most of my most passionate haters honestly believed that I had a crush on them until the grand opening of ‘Pablo Banila’s Never-ending Guestbook Party.’ [Then] they found out it wasn’t only them.”

The truth is, Pablo Banila never really visited every website where his avatar appeared—his bots did. An anonymous reader who identified himself as a retired hacker explained, “Pablo Banila actually is a programmer who uses a program called ‘web crawler.’ Web crawlers were originally used by search engines such as Google and Yahoo to automatically browse web pages on the internet. [This is done so they can] save the data on their database and make an index list of the web pages on the Internet.”

The reader added, “This is all done using a program. A program with a standard DSL connection can browse 10 sites every second, 600 sites every minute and 36,000 sites every hour—roughly 864,000 Multiply sites every day.”

Others who were already in the know admitted that he was a computer genius, if only slightly off his rocker. News that he came from top schools (Bantolo graduated from the Philippine Science High School and went on to study Computer Science at the University of the Philippines Diliman before transferring to New York University; he is currently a graduate student at California Riverside) only fueled the speculations about his being a crazy genius.

Others expressed their admiration and marveled at how he was able to pull off the scheme; others, like Multiply user “emocantbevanity” said, “He’s such a weirdo … why can’t he just get a life or something? Is he that much of a genius, that’s why he became a weirdo? Oh well, moral lesson—don’t be a genius and learn to socialize with other people so you wouldn’t become the country’s biggest weirdo!”

“I never thought of my viewing activity as stalking,” Bantolo said. “It was casual web surfing. What made the difference was my classic welcome message that penetrated the unawareness of the unspoken hope the viewing history promises in an avatar of a Lesbian in Shining Armor. I can honestly say that I wanted to meet new friends, and, ultimately, build a bridge of chance towards my one true love.”

According to Bantolo, he chose Multiply and Friendster “for the high demographic of Filipinos. And because I have not tried making new friends in other networks—but I will! Pretty soon!”

He added, “I wish I could click on millions of headshots for hours in a day, for that would’ve been like playing my favorite game, Counter-Strike; but that’s just impossible in my already inhumane schedule as a working student.”

And as for stalking—as soon as it was established that the only pages “Pablo Banila” visited were the homepages of the sites, which are essentially open to public viewing (as Multiply and Friendster have contacts-only lock options)—his viewing activities can hardly be counted as harassment.

Multiply user “agnestherese” said, “Pablo Banila is hardly a stalker. He only views homepages, not blogs or photos. I think that those who make such a big deal out of it, more specifically all the hate blogs, are self-centered or maybe just hurt when they found out that Pablo Banila has a crush on them … and everyone else.”

“Public domain is public domain,” Bantolo explained. “If they felt harassed in any way, it was because I kept exercising my right to view their public profile.” He further attributed the public’s fear and irritation to his “scarecrow headshot.”

He said, “People read about accusations, libel and death threats against me written on my guestbook. I am hated in exactly the same way other human beings discriminate against blacks, Muslims, and homosexuals.”

Bantolo added, “I performed the same routine using stereotypical images of innocence (young, attractive and female) at the same duration and received virtually no reaction.”

Actually, the entire issue is moot and academic, as “Pablo Banila” has already retired and given up his homepage-viewing days. But many users, unaware of what happened, remained in the dark for the past few weeks. As a final note, Bantolo quoted the California Penal Code’s definition of stalking:

Any person who willfully, maliciously, and repeatedly follows or harasses another person and makes a credible threat with the intent to place that person in reasonable fear for his or her safety is guilty of the crime of stalking.

“Credible threat” means a verbal or written threat, including that performed through the use of an electronic communication device.

He clarified, “I am not making a ‘credible threat’ nor do I intend to ‘place any person in reasonable fear for his or her safety.’”

Who in the world is Pablo Banila?

HE began as a series of mysterious avatars popping up on my Multiply viewing history. He didn’t bother me at first, because I was used to friendly strangers visiting my site. But when he began visiting on an almost daily basis—and under different usernames, although with the same avatar—I started to wonder who in the world was Pablo Banila.

Visits to his websites offered no clue. His avatar showed a creepy-looking guy with matted chin-length hair (think Severus Snape from Harry Potter) and a flashing sign that read, “Pablo Banila has a crush on you! That’s why he visited your website!”

That would have been almost flattering had I not already known that he had visited the websites of at least a hundred other people—all under different usernames and the same annoying avatar. He also has a dotcom, www.pablobanila.com, but it offers no clues, only rambling passages of text and close-up photos of himself.

People started complaining. “Please get a life, you pervert,” wrote one girl in her blog, after listing down his many usernames—pablobanila, ppaabblloobanila, rainbowinmycoffee, carrotperfume, laughingmankuze, edwardward, blackbetweenthestars, theblackbetweenthestars, etc. People left similar comments on that entry, saying, “OMG he viewed me too!” or “He views mine too, it’s so creepy!”

Others chimed in, “He views me every other day, more often than I check my own Multiply site,” while guys posted nervous comments like, “He checks me out too, and I’m a boy.”

So far, his visits to sites have been harmless (all he does is view homepages; he doesn’t leave comments), but creepy—there’s just no other word for it. Attempts to discover his identity have so far been futile. But identity aside, what everyone wants to know is, how does he find time to check out all those Multiply pages?

Is Pablo Banila actually a team of high school kids with nothing better to do?

Is Pablo Banila actually a group of college students doing a psychology research project for their thesis?

Is Pablo Banila a new Internet virus?

Is Pablo Banila actually just the government looking for suspected terrorists by combing through the pages of unsuspecting Multiply users?

Is Pablo Banila merely the victim of pranksters who are out to get him?

Or is Pablo Banila just really a sad person with no friends and nothing better to do?

In any case, Multiply users are waiting for an answer. But until then, Pablo Banila continues to stalk our websites—and our nightmares.

What my name means…. what’s yours?

What Kellyjohn Means

You are a seeker of knowledge, and you have learned many things in your life. You are also a keeper of knowledge – meaning you don’t spill secrets or spread gossip. People sometimes think you’re snobby or aloof, but you’re just too deep in thought to pay attention to them. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together. You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow. You are light hearted and accepting. You don’t get worked up easily. Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is. You are a free spirit, and you resent anyone who tries to fence you in. You are unpredictable, adventurous, and always a little surprising. You may miss out by not settling down, but you’re too busy having fun to care. You are fair, honest, and logical. You are a natural leader, and people respect you. You never give up, and you will succeed… even if it takes you a hundred tries. You are rational enough to see every part of a problem. You are great at giving other people advice. You are well rounded, with a complete perspective on life. You are solid and dependable. You are loyal, and people can count on you. At times, you can be a bit too serious. You tend to put too much pressure on yourself. You are truly an original person. You have amazing ideas, and the power to carry them out. Success comes rather easily for you… especially in business and academia. Some people find you to be selfish and a bit overbearing. You’re a strong person. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals.

What’s Your Name’s Hidden Meaning?

Home (Daughtry)

I'm staring out into the night,
Trying to hide the pain.
I'm going to the place where love
And feeling good don't ever cost a thing.
And the pain you feel's a different kind of pain.

I'm going home,
Back to the place where I belong,
And where your love has always been enough for me.
I'm not running from.
No, I think you got me all wrong.
I don't regret this life I chose for me.
But these places and these faces are getting old
So I'm going home.
Well I'm going home.

The miles are getting longer, it seems,
The closer I get to you.
I've not always been the best man or friend for you.
But your love, remains true.
And I don't know why.
You always seem to give me another try.

So I'm going home,
Back to the place where I belong,
And where your love has always been enough for me.
I'm not running from.
No, I think you got me all wrong.
I don't regret this life I chose for me.
But these places and these faces are getting old.

Be careful what you wish for,
'Cause you just might get it all.
You just might get it all,
And then some you don't want.
Be careful what you wish for,
'Cause you just might get it all.
You just might get it all, yeah.

Oh, well I'm going home,
Back to the place where I belong,
And where your love has always been enough for me.
I'm not running from.
No, I think you got me all wrong.
I don't regret this life I chose for me.
But these places and these faces are getting old.
I said these places and these faces are getting old.
So I'm going home.
I'm going home.