Miss Universe 2008 NEXT Top 15

Gone are the days when Miss Universe was posting in their website the overall rankings of all the candidates who participated in a particular year. Before, we knew who placed 11th to 80th but when Donald Trump owned the pageant, he opted not to do the tradition because of the five ladies they are including every year to the semi-finals.

It is rational. Let's say Miss Korea was actually 11th in the ranking but she was excluded in the Top 15 because the bottom five was given to the personal choice of MUO. This is unfair to Miss Korea and to the fans. So, in order to avoid conflicts, it is better not to post the overall ranking anymore in to the website.

It in this reason that I came up with my NEXT Top 15. These are the ladies, I believe, who made up the next 15. Probably some of them were actually in the Top 15 but their chances were compromised to make way for the favourite girls of Donald Trump.

My basis for choosing them is their preliminary performances available in short videos at the official Miss Universe website. I also considered some possible political factors that might have made them a shoo in for the NEXT Top 15. Don't worry, I also considered the amount of hyping on these particular candidates.

Ladies and gentlemen, here are the NEXT Top 15.

India, Puerto Rico, Philippines, Norway, Korea, Ireland, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Israel, Panama, Brazil, Peru, Kazakhstan, Angola and Greece.

Dayana Mendoza, Venezuela's fifth Miss Universe during a visit in New York. Photo is courtesy of gettyimages.

ANGOLA - Lesly Pereira, in fact, has a perfect body. She was stunning in her yellow swimsuit. Her body is one of the best. She is also elegant in her gown. Though the gown is a quite not fabulous, she carried it well. I don't really know why she was excluded.

BRAZIL - Natalia Anderle is actually good in both swimsuit and evening gown presentations. She is so relaxed during the swimsuit and it was really good - very natural. Though there is nothing jaw-locking in her performance, I believe she's in the NEXT top 15.

GREECE - Dionysia Koukiou is also very natural in during the swimsuit competition. She's fine in that segment but she lacked the energy during the evening gown. The judges might have noticed the sudden drop of her enrgy which costed her the slot on the Top 15. Indeed, she's in the NEXT Top 15.

INDIA - There is nothing special about Simran Kaur Mundi except for the name of her sash she was carrying. But she is sexy in her swimsuit. She is not the typical chicken-legged Indian. Her performances on both prelimanary shows was just average. Her gown is not fabulous but she probably nailed the interview portion.

IRELAND - Lyn Kelly had nice gown. Her performance was above average but she was just average during the swimsuit segment. In totality, there's no doubt she's in the NEXT Top 15.

ISRAEL - Shunit Faragi is fabulous at the swimsuit competition. Her downfall was the evening gown. She's a little bit unclassy on how she carried the not-so-fabulous-but-okay gown. Her style in that portion was actually hate-it or love-it.

KAZAKHSTAN - Alfina Nassyrova knows how to walk. She is probably the best candidate so far from her country. She did well in both category but her gown is a little bit outdated. The lesson this country or any country that hardly breaks to the Top 15 for that matter should have a fantabulous gown and eye-popping catwalk skills. That is one of the only two ways how they can break to the semis. The other one is through politics.

KOREA - Sun Lee is actually beautiful and knows how to walk - no doubt about it. The only problem in her performance was her exxageration. She walked too wild. But she is okay in the evening gown.

NORWAY - Mariann Birkedal is definitely good. What costed her the the crown was her gown. That was awful. She tried to carry it well, she did it, but the judges emphasized more on the gown.

PANAMA - Carolina Dementiev Justavino was just fine. She's really okay for the NEXT Top 15.

PERU - Carol Castillo is just like Miss Panama. Her performance was just fine. Nothing special but definitely she's not on the third slab of Top 15.

PHILIPPINES - Jennifer Barrientos actually showed a fine preliminary performances on swimsuit and evening gown. This lady silently worked hard to bring out the best in her until the finals. She did a very classy and swimsuit presentation. Obviously, her downfall was the outdated gown but she carried it well. Though she did not have the Best Gown, she's actually in my list of the Best in Gown. Remember that there is a difference between the two.

PUERTO RICO - Ingrid Rivera was good during the preliminary. There is no doubt about it. But she was not on her best form during that night. We've seen her in previous pageants better. She was overly exposed. This could be the reason why she did not make it to the Top 15. The judges might had high expectations on her and when they saw her doing just an average performance, her score was affected.

THAILAND - Gavintra Photijak was just fine. Like Panama and Peru, she delivered an average performance enough to be in the NEXT Top 15. Politics, this time, did not work on her. Too bad.

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO - Anya Ayoung-Chee was good in her evening gown. She carried it pretty well. She was also good in her swimsuit. And I believe she is better thatn some in the Top 15. This goes to some of the ladies mentioned in this particular list. Some of them are better than some of the ladies in the actual Top 15.

They are the ladies in the NEXT Top 15.

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Bitches Candidates of MU 2008

Miss Universe 2008, Dayana Mendoza hugged her runner-up Miss Colombia Talia Vargas right after the pageant in Vietnam.

WARNING: What you will be reading is just relayed to me by a Vietnamese who was in Vietnam during the pageant. Most of these are second hand informations she heard from the people who followed the Miss Universe activities in less than a month.

Some informations were also gathered and collected from different blogs and accounts from the people behind the pageant.

These are may be true or not. These are maybe urban legend or just hearsays. Take in mind that I can't verify these matters. I just would like these "news" in my blog. You can refute it anytime you want. You are free.

We have heard stories of candidates to any international pageants acting bitchy to other contestants or the press. This is no longer an unusual knowledge for most of us who are beauty fanatics. I guess you also have your own stories to tell, stories you have read from the web. But this time I will tell you something about the just-concluded pageant in Vietnam.

I am giving you some of the "BITCHES" candidates of Miss Universe 2008.

Who could forget the incidents involving Miss Egypt Yara Naoum? The incident was popularised by the blog of Ines Ligron, the national director of Japan. Ligron blogged out that Miss Egypt slapped the then Miss Universe Riyo Mori on backstage while they were rehearsing for the pageant. Not only that, Miss Canada was allegedly fed up with Yara's inconsideration of smoking heavily in the room without minding the presence of the Canadian beauty.

Next to Egypt is India's Simran Kaur Mundi. She often acted prima donna and believed much in herself. She was acting like she was the winner while the pageant was not yet over. The report in an Indian newspaper that she won the National Costume was rumoured to be came from Simran. When she was not called as a finalist, she belittled the pageant and was allegedly qouted for saying the pageant is no class.

Dominican Republic's Marianne Cruz Gonzales was said to be hard headed. During rehearsals, she was seen - as per the talks are concerned - acting stubbornly and ignoring the some of the officials' and choreographers' instructions.

Another suprise is Norway's Mariann Birkedal. She was very vocal about her tantrums. She was said to have lost her patience about the long hours of activities. All she wanted that time was to go home and leave the pageant at once.

Another candidates who were said to be bitches were Korea's Sun Lee, Thailand's Gavindra Pothijak and Philippine's Jennifer Barrientos.

It is very hard to believe these gossips especially Misses Norway, the Philippines, Korea and Dominican Republic. But they say " there's no smoke if there's no fire". Whatever it is, these may be true or just a work of a wild imagination.

But these are worth keeping for in a blog about beauty pageants. My Vietnamese friend could not also confirm the authencity of these.

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Racy Pictures of Miss Lebanon - Rosarita Tawil

The prize of becoming a well-known, being a celebrity or a beauty queen for that matter, is the fact that you are exposing yourself - down to every single details - to the public who will be like your stalker. This is  a nightmare but this is true. This is madness.

There is one thing we should imbibe in us before taking the first step of becoming a beauty queen or a public figure. Delete all our files we are having in the internet like from those in social networking sites  like Facebook, Friendster, etc.  Most of us love to post pictures and neglect to delete it at times we were supposed to do it.

Just take this case of a Miss Lebanon - Rosarita Tawil. After she won, racy pictures of her taken obviously in her private moments surfaced in the internet.

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Most Hyped Miss Universe 2008 Candidates

Below is the list of the most hyped five unplaced candidates of the Miss Universe 2008:

1. PUERTO RICO - She's no doubt the most hyped unplaced Miss Universe 2008 candidate. Right after her national pageant, she stole the limelight by accusing fellow candidates of spraying pepper in her evening gown and to her make up which made her face swollen during the final part of the pageant. She was in the pages of newspapers side by side with the owner of the Miss Universe, Donald Trump. In a Puerto Rican discussion board, her fans were busy praising every little details about her gown to her hairstyle. Her fans were busy as well bashing and trashing other candidates in an effort to lift Ingrid Rivera. But the tactics did not work this time for this 2005 Miss World Second Runner-Up. She did not deserve the hype.

2. INDIA - Because of the sash factor (India became a beauty superpower only in the nineties); her seemingly rehearsed and pageant patty interview; and her inclusion in the Top Ten Best in National Costume chosen by Vietnamese judges, she was in everybody's list, including me. A newspaper even reported in her country that she won the National Costume award even before the announcement of the real winner. Too bad, she had a very poor swimsuit and evening gown presentations. She did not also deserve the hype.

3. IRELAND - The amount of hyping on Miss Ireland is no match on the hypes on both Puerto Rico and India. Ireland was hardly noticed by the press covering the pageant but she did impress the eyes of all the beauty afficionados all over the world as manifested by almost all discussion boards on beauty pageants. She showed an impressive performance during the preliminary but she failed to break in to the Top 15. She deserved the hype, she should has been a finalist.

4. BRAZIL - She is not the prettiest face her country usually send to any international pageant. She's an ordinary Brazilian if you're in her country. In fact, the pageant went through without much media attention on her. But there was an effort by a number of Brazilian based websites and discussion boards in Latin America to help her get media mileage. In an effort to hype her, an article was quoted saying Miss Brazil made the biggest surprise at the preliminary. Indeed, she was a surprise at the Final night for not placing on the Top 15. The hype was not picked up. She definitely did not deserve the hype.

5. THAILAND - The inclusion of Thailand in the Top 15 or 20 for the last two years (Thanks to Singha beer for being a sponsor of the pageant) helped this year's Thai representative get enough media attention. Like Puerto Rico, she was in everybody's list. Her fans emulated also the tactics of most of the Latin Americans of bashing other candidates in an attempt to make their candidate looks the best or superior in the pageant. She did not make it. She deserved it without a doubt.

Miss Universe 2008, Dayana Mendoza in her national costume during the pageant in Vietnam.

Below is the list of the most hyped Miss Universe 2008 candidates who penetrated the Top 15:

1. VENEZUELA - The sash factor worked on Dayana Mendoza, a priviledge Venezuela has been enjoying since the eighties. Half of the world's beauty pageant fanatics predicted her as the winner. She was given favouritism during the pageant especially during a parade that required half of the candidates to wear the Vietnamese tradidtional dress, the Ao Dai. Dayana was the priority of the press covering the event for interviews and picture takings. Afterall, she deserved it.

2. COLOMBIA - Talia Vargas ahs been in every pages of all beauty pageant forums. Her fans did well with their hyping. But, all in all, Miss Colombia did a very strong preliminary performance. She had the best gown in the pageant and I really love it. She carried the gown very well. Too bad, she did not win but she deserved all the efforts to hype her.

3. JAPAN - Having a national director who has a very popular blog discussing about her, Hiroko Mima was indeed overhyped by Ines Ligron and her followers unintentionally. Ines is such a good person and she did it in good faith, I still believe. There is no doubt that Miss Japan deserved her placement on the finals but the hyping on her just went overboard.

4. KOSOVO - How many times you've seen a Miss Kosovo at teh Miss Universe? Only this year. That idea made her the apple of the eyes of all the beauty pageant fanatics. Aside from that fact, she is no doubt one of the prettiest faces in the competition. Her look is unconventional and she has resemblance to Angelina Jolie, a popular Hollywood actress. Well, she deserved the hype.

5. AUSTRALIA - Her resemblance to her fellow Australian Miss Universe 2004 Jennifer Hawkins made Miss Australia a top favourite to win the crown. She was indeed a favourite topic in all forums. Though she did not display outstanding preliminary performances, she made it to Top 15. I can say, she deserve the hype afterall.

To complete my TOP 15 MOST HYPED 2008 Miss Universe candidates, I am including in my list the countries of Mexico, Panama, Peru, Kazakhstan, Norway and Trinidad and Tobago.

Based also on my observation, the people of Latin America and the Caribbean especially Brazil, Mexico and Puerto Rico tend to overhype their representatives. They are prolly beauty fanatics in its true meaning as vindicated by their performances year after year.

Well, it is not that bad to hype especially if there are no bashing and trashing of other candidates.

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Miss Earth Update

The above pictures belong to this year's Sweden's representative to Miss Earth Pageant. She is the first official candidate for the pageant. Her name is Elin Flodin. She 24 years old and stands 1.75 meters.

It was announced by a Philippine television network that is also a partner of Miss Earth organization that the 8th edition of this pageant will be held in three countries, the Philippines, Bali, Indonesia and Guam, USA.

In a TV report, the candidate of Guam was in Manila for the said invitation. Miss Earth is making history as the only pageant to hold the said beauty contest in three countries. Last year, Manila and Vietnam hosted it.

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Disappointment at Miss Universe 2008

Here is an article written by Verdel Bishop for a paper in Trinidad and Tobago.

Peter disappointed with Miss Universe judging

by Verdel Bishop

Miss Universe franchise holder, Peter Elias, has expressed disappointment over this year’s Miss Universe pageant judging in Vietnam.

Elias told Newsday he felt confident that this country’s representative, Anya Ayoung-Chee should have been among the top five finalists and described the judging process as subjective.

“I wish Trinidad and Tobago could have seen Anya in Vietnam. After the pageant, Miss Venezeula and Miss Colombia also expressed their disappointment. They too, expected TT in the top five with them. They too, wanted to know what happened,” Elias said.

Elias added that in his 15 years of involvement with the pageant, this is the first time he has written to the organisation to try to determine what went wrong, however, he is still waiting on a response.

“I am disappointed because we gave our best; the entire team really worked hard. In our judgement and in the judgement and opinion of others while we were there, and based on the positive feedback, we felt confident that this country would have done well.

“Anya is very intelligent, vibrant and amazing. She worked really hard and was very prepared. She deserved it and I had high expectations because of her performance,” Elias said.

Elias said Ayoung-Chee will return to TT in a couple weeks, as she deserves a little time to breathe and to travel a bit.

Pre-pageant favourites included Miss Trinidad and Tobago Miss Venezuela, Miss Mexico, Miss Puerto Rico and Miss South Africa. However, the big award of Miss Universe 2008 went to Miss Venezuela Dayana Mendoza – dubbed as the girl with modern beauty, dynamic and confident characteristics.

Trinidad News, Port of Spain,Trinidad and Tobago, 23.07.08

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Beauty Tidbits fo this Week

The candidates at the backstage during the live finale of the Miss Universe 2008 pageant in Vietnam.

I am a lurker of Rafa's fantastic site for quite a long time and I would just like to share some news from his weekly report. Rafa, if you're reading this just give me a comment if you wish your article will not be published here and I do the needful.

Oh, thanks to that someone who posted at your messageboard about this blog. Thanks for liking this.

Here the bits of informations from Critical Beauty:

• RELUCTANT QUEEN : The new Miss Universe from Venezuela, Dayana Mendoza, did not really want to become a beauty queen. According to her parents, Miss Venezuela director Osmel Sousa tried for three years to convince Dayana to enter the national pageant. Osmel told Dayana: "This is your last chance. Decide if you want to enter. You're already 21." Her father believes that the frivolity of pageant scared her, but later she realized that it wasn't so. Mendoza told her father: "If I enter Miss Venezuela, it's to win." So Mendoza signed up and won. (El Universal, Caracas, 7/20/2008)

• HER GOWN : Dayana had brought to Vientam three gowns - one white designed by Angel Sánchez, one yellow by Alberto de Castro, and one yellow by Johnny Straccia. No one knew which of these gowns Dayana would wear. However, during the live telecast, Straccia jumped with joy after having seen Dayana win while she was wearing the gown that he designed. "I was almost sure that it would be my gown because we worked together with the Miss Venezuela organization." Straccia said that the gown was designed by the end of May with yards of chiffon and silk crepe. "The idea was to create a gown that would show Dayana's legs. For that I designed a silk bodice enhanced by Swarovski crystals that give it total sparkle. (El Universal, Caracas, 7/20/2008)

Interesting note: Dayana is the first woman to be crowned Miss Universe wearing a yellow gown.

• COSMETIC CONFESSION : During a press conference the day after she was crowned Miss Universe, Dayana admitted that she had cosmetic surgery done on her nose and on her breasts. This is nothing shocking, really, considering that cosmetic surgery has become a routine performed on Latin delegates. Dayana said that she had a nose job because everytime she smiled, her nose would look droopy. The breast augmentation was necessary because she was essentially flat-chested. Dayana's surgeries didn't agree well with Miss Spain Claudia Moro who, after the pageant in Vietnam, went topless on the beach and told the Venezuelan press that Dayana "won the title for much more things besides cosmetic surgeries." (El Heraldo, Barranquilla, 7/20/2008)

• WHO WILL CROWN THE NEW MISS VENEZUELA? Not Dayana Mendoza. This honor will be given to Hannelys Quintero who was Dayana's first runner-up to her Miss Venezuela 2007 title. Why? Because MUO has already prepared Dayana's agenda, and it does not include crowning her successor, unless MUO gives her permission to do so. Meanwhile, it is reported that Venevisión is organizing a lavish reception for Dayana during her homecoming, which will be shown on the popular variet show "Sábado Sensacional." (Diário 2001, Caracas, 7/20/2008)

• MISS ELEGANCE 2008? : An Argentine newspaper is quoting Mónica Vega, the mother of Miss Argentina Silvana Belli who said that her daughter was awarded the Miss Elegance award during the Miss Universe 2008 pageant in Vietnam. Vega remarked: "Silvana received this title, even though it was not televised due to time constraint. In a few more days, they are going to send us a certificate from Vietnam that credits her as Miss Elegance 2008." Yeah, like whatever. LOL! (Diario de Cuyo, Argentina, 7/20/2008)

• LUPITA UNDER ATTACK : Lupita Jones, Mexico's national director and the only Miss Universe from her country, is being blamed by her countrymen for Elisa Nájera's failure to win Miss Universe. Critics contend that Elisa's white gown was not good enough, even though she received the third highest score in the evening gown competition. They are also blaming Elisa's "lack of elegance and the uncertainty of her answer" that caused her to place fifth. Alvaro Gordoa, the director of Grupo Imagen Pública, said: "They need to run the pageant in a way that Lupita Jones is no longer its protagonist; she remains as the only Mexican Miss Universe and it would take a lot of courage for someone to take away that title from her. Lupita disagrees: "I want a second Mexican Miss Universe so badly that I have devoted my body and soul to the preparation of young women, and the numbers show that we are doing well." Since Lupita took over the Mexican franchises, Mexico has made the Miss Universe semifinals six times and Miss World four. (Mundo52, Mexico, 7/19/2008)

For further news, visit www.criticalbeauty.com

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Spot the Difference

Can you spot the difference?

She's no other than our latest winner of the Miss Universe from the beauty factory of Venezuela. Her name is Dayana (not Dayanara) Mendoza.

It is a common knowledge that most delegates especially from Latin America, the Caribbean and India undergo surgeries and other forms of cosmetics enhancement before fielding their delegates to any beauty pageant. Yes, these countries send the most unnatural ladies to any pageants.

It's very evident from our pictures that Dayana underwnet a breast enhancement. Her left photo is showing her breast is just a punch-size.

This is a hot issue in the beauty pageant arena about women undergoing the knife to enhance their chances of winning the crown.

The issue is not only about a question of ethics but also of fair playing. Others say this is one kind of cheating in beauty pageants.

Now my question is when this trend gonna stop? I miss the old Miss Universe where delegates compete in their natural beauty.

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Top 10 GOOD Things about Miss Universe 2008

1. Miss Puerto Rico's exclusion in the semi-finals. Her scandals including pepper spraying, cosmetics enhancement and bashing from her rabid fans are not good example of a good model in the universe.

2. The stage is fantastic especially during the swimsuit segment. I love the falls at the background. It brings good fortune. Hopefully, for Miss Universe and Vietnam.

3. Mis USA's rise after the fall. What is important is how you stand up everytime you stumble.

4. Miss Colombia's eye-popping gown. It is also an eye opener for the Philippines that their designer, Alfredo Barraza, will always put the interest of his country ahead of a foreign country like the Philippines in this case.

5. Witnessing the admirable fighting spirit and positive attitude of the "unnoticeable" ladies from countries like Singapore, Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Kazahstan, Egypt, Honduras, Trinidad and Tobago, the Philippines, etcetera despite the seemingly unending bashings and namecallings of lunatic uneducated fans all over the world.

6. The pageant shows Vietnam as a country rich of beautiful sceneries and traditions in a fifteen-minute of fame.

7. MUO's effort of continuing a tradition loved by so many people including myself despite setbacks it is experiencing nowadays.

8. The pageant brings few occasions where we see Israel, Lebanon and Egypt enjoying all together without tensions.

9. It provides an avenue for less fortunate women who can't afford surgeries in some countries like Puerto Rico, Venezuela, India and Mexico to have free cosmetics enhancement before going to the pageant.

10. It gives women a platform for a better showbiz or modelling career. Right, Lara Dutta.

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Top 15 BAD Things About Miss Universe 2008

1. It registered the lowest rating of the pageant since its birth. Miss Universe is dying except in Latin America and the Caribbean, home of millions of rabid fans.

2. It's getting boring every year with the same countries making to the semi-finals. There are no more surprises. The market is only concentrated to Latin America which is not helping the pageant regain its popularity.

3. It makes people who are less fortunate frustrated upon seeing the beautiful ladies.

4. Thailand unmasking herself as haven of silent but fierce rabid fans who voted their representative day and night to win the Best in National Costume this year. Watch out India, Puerto Rico, USA, Mexico and the Philippines.

5. MUO exploiting the money of poor Vietnam for asking them high franchise fee for hosting the pageant. A waste of money that was never capitalized.

6. MUO exploiting the money of the represented countries for asking them high franchise fees. It's a waste of money for Malaysia, Guam, Uruguay, Guatemala, Honduras, Turkey, Egypt, Cyprus, Malta, etcetera.

7. The standard of candidates is getting poorer and poorer every year. Where is now the prestige?

8. Making a billionaire like Donald Trump richer and richer with the expense of the small and poor countries that yearly send delegates to the pageant.

9. Hiring a NOBODY , a STARLET like Eesha Kopphikar as a judge for the pageant. Why not ask Ellie Saab or Monique Lhuillier and other famous designers?

10. Obviously trying hard to include Miss USA year after year to pick up ratings in the US of A.

11. Letting business and politics get along the way which is causing the pageant loss its true meaning or essence of a beauty contest.

12. It's provides uneducated lunatic fans an avenue to bash and throw racist comments towards another country. This is pathetic. These bashers should be incarcerated.

13. The annoying Jerry Springer's voice when he was calling the names of the countries as finalists or semi-finalists.

14. The show had a poor dance choreography during the opening number.

15. The victory of Venezuela and Colombia and the failure of Tanzania and Albania to advance.

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My Prediction for the Top 15 is Almost Perfect

I have been a pageant observer since the early 1990's and every year, I never failed to make my list of my predictions. Thanks God, I never predicted below half of the actual Semi-finalists. I always guess more than half. Well, probably because I have an eye for what is beautiful in a pageant.

This year, I listed my predictions in an earlier blog entry here and when I checked it, I predicted 11 out of 15.

I compared my predictions to other websites, blogs and betting sites and mine has the highest percentage of correct predictions.

Wow, this is kinda an achievement for me since I topped it. Though this is not a contest, I am somehow happy because this is a vindication of myself being a certified fan of beauty pageants.

I based my predictions on the swimsuit and evening gown competitions at the preliminary. These are all available on the Miss Universe site. I also check their interviews and studied possible poiltical aspects affecting the pageant and the delegate sending countries. The job is not easy but knowing all these will give you an edge.

You can check my predictions in this earlier entry here.

I correctly predicted USA, Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Japan, Vietnam, Australia, Spain, South Africa and Czech Republic. I missed Hungary, Italy, Kosovo and Russia. Instead, I predicted India, Thailand, Philippines and Korea.

Surprisingly, all those who did not make my prediction are from Asia and those I missed are all from Europe or Eurasia.

Well, I beat bookmaker.com, caribet.com, Chilean Charm, Pageant Almanac, Beauty School, Missosology and Critical Beauty.

HERE IS THE COMPARISON:

1. Beauty in Pageants (this is me) - 11/15
2. Bookmaker.com - 9/14
3. Pageant Almanac - 9/15
4. Caribet.com - 8/14
5. Missosology - 8/15
6. Chilean Charm - 7/15
7. Critical Beauty - 6/15
8. Beauty School - 4/15

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Videos of the Miss Universe 2008

If you haven't watched the pageant live like me, here are the videos made possible to us by veestarz.com

Enjoy the show.

http://missuniversefanzone.multiply.com/video/item/48/MISS_U_2008_OPENING_NUMBER

http://missuniversefanzone.multiply.com/video/item/47/MISS_U_2008_NATIONAL_COSTUME_PARADE

http://missuniversefanzone.multiply.com/video/item/46/MISS_U_2008_TOP_15_ANNOUNCEMENT

http://missuniversefanzone.multiply.com/video/item/45/MISS_U_2008_TOP_15_FASHION_SHOOT

http://missuniversefanzone.multiply.com/video/item/44/MISS_U_2008_SWIMSUIT_COMPETITION

http://missuniversefanzone.multiply.com/video/item/43/MISS_U_2008_TOP_10_ANNOUNCEMENT

http://missuniversefanzone.multiply.com/video/item/42/MISS_U_2008_EVENING_GOWN_COMPETITION

http://missuniversefanzone.multiply.com/video/item/40/MISS_U_2008_SPECIAL_AWARDS

http://missuniversefanzone.multiply.com/video/item/39/MISS_U_2008_TOP_5_ANNOUNCEMENT

http://missuniversefanzone.multiply.com/video/item/38/MISS_U_2008_FINAL_QA

http://missuniversefanzone.multiply.com/video/item/37/MISS_U_2008_TOP_5_FINAL_LOOK

http://missuniversefanzone.multiply.com/video/item/36/MISS_U_2008_FAREWELL_WALK_AND_CROWNING

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Donald Trump's Five Girls

The pageant is over but until now we are still clueless about the five Donald Trump's girls in the Final 15. They will never announce it to protect the interest of the pageant but things are getting obvious lately.

These are the girls who made it to the Top 15 by virtue of their charisma to the Miss Universe Organization. These maybe true or not but the basis are from the gossips of the people behind the show.

HUNGARY - Rumour says that Donald Trump is dating, in fact in love, with a supermodel who is from Hungary. Yes, you've heard it right. Trump has a big heart for models and this is vindicated by his choice of Miss Universe since 1996 when he owned it. His former wife is also a model from the region where Hungary is located.

JAPAN - Barely a day after the preliminary , a rumour started to circulate about a shut out of Asians in the semi-finals. No Asian made it to the Top 10 and since politics played an important role, Japan was chosen over Korea from the ward of Ines Ligron who is in perfect ties with the Trump company and the MUO.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - Things happened during the meeting of National Directors. For failing to pay franchise fee, Puerto Rico was dropped out automatically. MUO was cautious not to stir emotions from the fanatic fans in the Caribbean and with the support of all the National Directors to Pebbles Magali (Ines even mentioned this support thingy in her blog), Dominican Republic was included to appease Magali and not to break ties with one of the solid markets of the pageant.

KOSOVO - It is a tradition for the Miss Universe Organization under the Trump era to sustain relationship with newcomers in the field with the right amount of hyping. Afterall, business is business.

VIETNAM - There is no confirmation about the inclusion of 3 Vietnamese judges in the preliminary. Jerry Springer, one of the hosts, mentioned during the final nights that the Top 15 was chosen by an undisclosed set of judges. It is a bluff but eyewitness says there were more than two. This is Trump's way of putting things in a discreet manner. But despite of the presence of the so-called judges, Vietnam failed to make it to the Top 10 but she was in the Top 15. MUO picked her up then as a consolation to the effort of the Vietnamese government and to strengthen relationship since the Vietnam War.

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A Preview by Rafa of Criticalbeauty

VENEZUELA WINS FIFTH MISS UNIVERSE CROWN
But Colombia should have won!

DAYANA MENDOZA, a 22-year-old model from Caracas, Venezuela, was crowned as the new Miss Universe in Nha Trang Vietnam on June 14th. The show was broadcast live at 8 AM (Vietnam time) to benefit viewers in the U.S. East Coast who were watching at 9 P.M. Sunday night of June 13th. Mendoza's victory marks Venezuela's fifth Miss Universe crown since Alicia Machado won in 1996; it also reaffirms Venezuela's reputation as the most prolific beauty queen producer in the world. Mendoza's victory is also significant in the sense that she is the first contestant, Venezuelan or not, to have won the Miss Universe crown wearing a yellow gown. Mendoza's court includes first runner-up Taliana Vargas of Colombia, second runner-up Marianne Cruz of the Dominican Republic, third runner-up Vera Krasova of Russia and fourth runner-up Elisa Najera of Mexico. The top ten finalists consisted of the delegates from Kosovo, Australia, Spain, USA and Italy. The remaining top fifteen included the representatives from Japan, South Africa, Vietnam, Hungary and Czech Republic. Special awards were given to Gavintra Photijak of Thailand and to Rebeca Moreno of El Salvador for Miss Congeniality Universe. There was no Miss Photogenic award given this year.

Mendoza's victory was expected from the moment she arrived in Vietnam. Most pageant experts, missosologists, and even betting agencies had placed Mendoza as the eventual winner. Apart from what is mentioned about her in the official Miss Universe site, we do not know much about the new queen. A Wikipedia article states that she was a teenage model with Elite Model Management and that she has modeled for big designers like Versace and Roberto Cavalli who, by the way, was one of the judges. We also know that she was express-kidnapped for one day and then released. But we don't know anything about her family, her educational background, or anything else. They just crowned a mystery woman. I'd like to know the details about her kidnapping.

I watched the live telecast in the comfort of my living room along with a few friends, most of whom, including myself, were cheering for Miss Colombia. Read on.

WHY I PREFERRED MISS COLOMBIA : Mainly for sentimental reasons, and more. The last time Colombia won Miss Universe was in 1958 when a beautiful, doe-eyed brunette Luz Marina Zuluaga was crowned. Due to her victory, the Colombian government declared her tax-exempt for life. This year, Zuluaga celebrates her fiftieth coronation anniversary, and Colombians were hoping that a victory by Taliana Vargas would be the icing on Zuluaga's anniversary cake. Colombia almost won Miss Universe in 1992, 1993 and 1994, and if Colombia had won in those years and if Vargas had won this year, Colombia would have tied with Puerto Rico for the second most number of Miss Universe crowns. But it seems that the stars have not been in Colombia's favor, or that it has not been as lucky as Venezuela or even Mexico.

While selecting CB's choice for Miss Universe 2008, my associate Héctor Joaquín and I were debating which contestant deserved our critical vote. Héctor originally opted for Miss Puerto Rico Ingrid Marie Rivera, but I vehemently disagreed. I told him that Ingrid is overhyped and that she hadn't been her best since she won her national title last November, thanks to unnecessary surgeries and atrocious eye make-up with metallic shades during the preliminaries. Héctor even admitted that Ingrid "has had it" with all the pressure that was being imposed on her. We needed to select someone fresh and free from controversy. Here comes Taliana.

If Taliana had any detractors, it would be from any of the following sub-humans (LOL!): those who think that her response was not convincing, even though she spoke with a lot of sincerity and that her answer is similar to that of Denise Quiñones when she won in 2001; those who prefer Miss Venezuela's raccoon eye make-up and not-so fashion-forward sequined banana dress to a Beatriz Camacho original that Taliana worked to perfection; those who think her face is chubby even though there have been ex-titleholders whose faces are chubbier than hers (Rina Messinger - 1976, Irene Saez - 1981, Karen Baldwin - 1982, Barbara Palacios - 1986, and Alicia Machado - 1996); those who say that she lacks sex appeal, even though she made the top five of the swimsuit competition and she could pass up as the younger sister of sexy Mexican pop star Thalia; and lastly, those who just hate Colombian beauty queens for whatever reason.


UNITED STATES OF ASS : Last year's Miss USA Rachel Smith slipped and fell on her Tennessee butt while competing in the evening gown competition. It seems that history repeats itself. This time during the evenning gown competition, Miss USA Crystle Stewart tripped on her gown's train and landed on her Texas derrière. Stewart wore a glistening, aristocratic and heavily-beaded gown by world-renowned Puerto Rican designer Carlos Alberto. Some posters in several message boards claim that the few changes in the gown (such as the addition of more beads on the hemline) added weight to the train and thus making it less manageable. Maybe. But a true beauty queen should be able to handle an accident as graceful as possible, and Stewart failed to do so. Beauty queens focus too much time on standing erect and working their gown, but they never learn how to recover with grace and dignity after they fall. Let this be a requirement for future beauty queens.

THE SADDEST GAL : Without doubt, Miss Puerto Rico Ingrid Marie Rivera. This young woman, who placed third in Miss World 2005 and was named the Queen of the Caribbean, left Vietnam empty-handed. I can imagine Miss World chairwoman Julia Morley gloating over Ingrid's misfortune: "That's what you get for thinking that Miss Universe is better than Miss World! Hah!" Ingrid will now be known as the Miss Puerto Rico Universe that has the saddest reign. She truly deserves a certain degree of sympathy: a victim of the Pepper Spray incident, a victim of badly calculated makeover, and recently, a receiver of tragic news (Miguel Curbelo, her mentor and trainer of four years, died while she was still in Vietnam). Despite all these incidents, Ingrid managed to persevere. Now, an article by Primera Hora claims that one of the reasons that Ingrid did not place was due to the fact that her national director Magali Febles had failed to pay the full franchise fee of US$100,000 to MUO. Rabid Puerto Rican fans are now demanding that Febles, a Dominican, should step down and be replaced by a Puerto Rican director. Ingrid reacts [my translation]: "I am very satisfied with my work. I know that I did my best and that my biggest consolation is that my friends and MUO staff and even the judges said that I should have been in top five. That proves that my hard work did not remain unnoticed."(El Nuevo Dia, 7/14/2008)

GOOD STUFF : The production. Bravo for an excellent show! From the colorful stage to the dynamic hosts Jerry Springer and Mel B. From the unique act Lady Gaga and her flip-flop-wearing back-up dancers to the generous airtime afforded to promote Vietnam to the world. If you did not see the show, you would continue to think that Vietnam is still a country that has not fully recovered from the Vietnam War. But you would have been surprised to see dazzling images of Nha Trang and Ha Long Bay, well-preserved ancient Buddhist temples, majestic rice terraces, cosmopolitan Ho Chi Minh City, and busy streets filled with scooter riders and merchants. It's a country that I would love to visit some day. And it just so happens that Vietnamese spring rolls are one of my favorites! And lastly, outgoing queen Riyo Mori doing her final walk wearing an ultra-chic woman's tuxedo. She will certainly go down in history as the most fashionable Miss Universe ever.

Copied from Criticalbeauty by Rafael Robert Delfin

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....And They Are Going Home

Miss Universe 2008 ended on the morning of 14 July 2008 in Vietnam. The final telecast started at very early 8 o'clock in the morning in time for a primetime viewing in the USA, the main market and origin of the pageant.

At these pictures below, we can see some of the candidates probably going out of the convention. They are heading to their hotel rooms to prepare going home to their homeland.

Miss Philippines

Miss Thailand

Miss Colombia, First Runner Up

Miss Mexico

Miss Russia

Is this Miss Kosovo?

Misses Malaysia and Vietnam

Miss Korea?

Miss Australia?

Miss Netherlands on the phone

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Miss Universe is Dying

We have to admit that Miss Universe is slowly losing its prime and is diving at the ratings game.

Here is a report Tony Fitzgerald of Media Life Magazine:

Miss Universe Stumbles with Viewers in USA
By Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life Magazine
Jul 14, 2008

Miss USA wasn’t the only one to stumble last night. NBC’s “Miss Universe” pageant took a fall as well, down 9 percent from last year and likely earning its lowest-rating ever, though it still won its timeslot.

“Universe” averaged a 4.1 household rating from 9 to 11 p.m., according to Nielsen overnights, off from last year’s previous all-time low, a 4.5. Among viewers 18-49, the year-to-year dip was even steeper, 20 percent, from a 2.5 to a 2.0.

But a decline was probably to be expected after the pageant was moved from late May to early July, when TV viewing levels are well off from the end of May sweeps. That left “Universe” without a strong promotional platform, on a night where the networks have been posting low ratings throughout the summer.

The show wasn’t helped by its very low-rated lead-ins, a Jim Cramer special at 7 p.m. that drew a mere 0.4 and a repeat of “America’s Got Talent” that averaged a 1.1 at 8 p.m.

Still, “Universe” won its two-hour timeslot in households, barely outdrawing CBS’s 3.8. It was also tops in total viewers (6.6 million), adults 25-54 and women 18-49.

Miss Venezuela took the crown in the Donald Trump-owned pageant, but it was Miss USA, Crystle Stewart, who attracted much of the attention today. She tripped during the evening gown competition, marking the second straight year a Miss USA has done so.

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The Fall and Rise of Miss USA at Miss Universe

I have promised that we'll gonna talk about the falls of Miss USA in two consecutive years and, surprisingly, both falls were on the same evening gown segment.

At your left is Miss USA 2008, Crystle Stewart.

But comparing it to the fall of Miss USA 2007 Rachel Smith during the pageant in Mexico, Stewart's was little luckier. It did not hurt her that much but it really did hurt her chances for the Top 5. It is pretty obvious that she never recovered all throughout the evening gown presentation and you can see her from the video clip how tensed she was.

At first, she thought it would be fine since she was able to raise up her hands over her head and applaud to the audience signalling that she was fine. But if you have observed it very closely, she almost tripped again (for the second time) when she was about to make her way down the stair to the centre of the stage. She almost out balanced but was lucky enough to hold firm of the ground.

Then she just hold her gown at both sides to make sure she wouldn't step on it. She only dropped it in her final pose in the stage.

That was pretty bad for her but she is lucky as compared to Rachel Smith (with pictures at your right) who really hurt when her butt touched tremendously the bottom of the floor.










But Smith was luckier to work the fall to her advantage. She did react better after regaining completely her composure and went on to the Top 5 which infuriated the Mexican audience.

Smith showed poise and fast recovery after the fall and that made the judges gave their yes to her.

So does this mean that the harder you fall, the bigger your chance to advance? No, it is all how you stand up everytime you fall as per Miss Philippines Miriam Quiambao who also tripped during the preliminary competition of Miss Universe 1999 pageant in Trinidad and Tobago.

Miriam did it best by showing more class and elegance. She showed the fastest recovery among the three of them and that was vindicated by her higher placement.

I remember that year when Ali Landry commented on the finals that "she's afraid that the girls might be falling on the stage year after year." She did it with a little sarcasm.

Now, how would Ali Landry feels seeing her girls falling on the stage year after year? Karma?

Going back to Stewart, some posters from almost all the discussions boards are commenting that the fall is rehearsed and it is a karma for Donald Trump who always put USA in the finals every year.

Well, I still would like to believe all were accidents and nothing wished those to happen.

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Question and Answer

Let us take a look at the question and answer at this year's Miss Universe pageant in Vietnam.

Judge Louis Lacari to Dayana Mendoza, Miss Venezuela:

Q: Do you believe men or women have it easy in life?
A: Actually, God made men and women different. But the big difference between women and men--it doesn't matter what kind of life they live--is that men think that the faster way to go to a point is to go straight. Women, no. The faster way to go to a point is to go through curves and fixing every curve

JudgeJennifer Hawkins to Taliana Vargas, Miss Colombia:

Q: Go back in time, change a moment in your past
A: A wonderful life, big family, huge values. Will not change anything. Everything is perfect

Judge Donald Trump, Jr. to Marianne Cruz, Miss Dominican Republic:

Q: Biggest sacrifice made
A: Had to work really early in life. All sacrifices are well worth it.

Judge Roberto Cavalli to Elisa Najera, Miss Mexico:

Q: When is a woman truly satisfied?
A: When she has a balance in life. Mind, soul and feelings in a same level. Family, life and community.

Judge Eesha Koppikhar to Vera Krasova, Miss Russia:

Q: Discrimination in women?
A: Women in our time have become stronger. Women can have a successful career and raise children. Women will be better.


NOTE: These are not the direct answers and questions from the judges and the contestants but these are the main points.

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How the Top 15 was Ranked in the Finals?

Here is a list of the winners of Miss Universe 2008, the Top 10 and 15, the winners of the special awards and the scores each candidate got from the judges:

Miss Universe 2008 - Venezuela

First Runner Up - Colombia

Second Runner Up - Dominican Republic

Third Runner Up - Russia

Fourth Runner Up - Mexico

Evening Gown or the Top 10:

1. Colombia - 9.829

2. Venezuela-9.697

3. Mexico-9.429

4. Dom.Rep.-9.036

5. Russia-8.471

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6. Kosovo-8.264

7. Spain-8.200

8. USA-8.050

9. Italy-7.729

10.Australia-7.557

Swimsuit Competition or Top 15:

1. Colombia- 9.433

2. Venezuela-9.327

3. USA-9.207

4. Spain-9.150

5. Mexico-9.071

6. Dom.Rep.-8.983

7. Russia-8.414

8. Kosovo-8.120

9. Australia-7.814

10. Italy-7.671

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11. Czech Rep.-7.386

12. Hungary-7.229

13. S.Africa-7.133

14. Japan-7.100

15. Vietnam-7.050

Best in National Costume - Thailand (She has the most number of internet votes)

Miss Congeniality - El Salvador (The shortest delgate at 5'3")

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Miss Venezuela Wins Miss Universe 2008

As expected by many, Miss Venezuela Dayan Mendoza did not fail the high expectations of her fans  when she won the Miss Universe 2008 in Na Thrang, Vietnam at the Exhibition Centre.

She was wearing a yellow night gown when recieved the 18K white and yellow gold crown, which was valued at $120,000. She is the 57th Miss Universe and the fifth Miss Universe from her country.

Mendoza was crowned by last year's winner Japan's Riyo Mori who stole the show by bravely wearing a tuxedo instead of the traditional evening gown. This is the first time in the history of Miss Universe that the outgoing Miss Universe wore a non-evening gown. This only shows that Miss Universe under Donald Trump is trying to change the common practices in the pageant.

The 22-year-old beauty was once kidnapped in her homeland  when she was a child and says the experience taught her to remain poised under pressure.

Another show stealer is Miss USA, Crystle Stewart who tripped on the floor during the evening gown competition. Surprisingly, this is the second year a Miss USA  fell onstage on the same evening gown competition. Last year, Rachel Smith also tripped and fell flat on her bottom. (We'll talk more on this in another blog entry)

Misses Colombia Taliana Vargas, Dominican Republic Marianne Cruz, Russia Vera Krasova and Mexico Elisa Najera are the second, third, fourth and fifth placers respectively.

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The Judges for Miss Universe 2008

TARYN ROSE

Taryn Rose changed the footwear industry in 1998 by creating a line of luxury shoes that were as fashionable as they were functional. After her first year in business, Rose opened a boutique in Beverly Hills, California. Shortly after, she opened a second boutique in New York and by 2002, opened a third in San Jose, California. In 2004, Rose added a fourth store at the Forum Shops in Las Vegas and launched the brand in Seoul, Korea and in Harrods Department store in 2006. In May 2007, her collection launched at Printemps department store in Paris. This year, Rose successfully sold her shoe business and is on to her next project, Haute Footure, a new line of comfortable, yet elegant, footwear. Rose regularly participates in projects to support various non-profit organizations.

NGUYEN CONG KHE

Mr. Nguyen Cong Khe is the Editor-in-Chief of Thanh Nien newspaper. He is also the Director of the Nguyen Thai Binh Scholarship, a member of the Vietnam Youth Fund and is Chairman and Founder of the Vietnam Talent Fund. He is married and has two children.

JOSEPH CINQUE

Joseph Cinque began his path in the hospitality industry in the early 80's as part owner in The Surf Club and The Crane Club. Since then he has found his true calling in life, a position he was made for, The President of The American Academy of Hospitality Sciences. Under Cinque's leadership the Academy has grown enormously. Throughout its history, the company has set the standard of quality and service in the global travel and luxury services sector. Each year the Academy bestows its coveted International Five Star Diamond Award exclusively to five star establishments that are deemed to be of pinnacle quality by its esteemed Board of Trustees.

EESHA KOPPIKHAR

Eesha Koppikhar belongs to a family of academicians. She herself completed a course in Life Sciences from Ruia College, Mumbai. She shot to fame after a modelling shoot with Gautam Rajyadhaksa when she was still in Junior College. So far she has modeled for Camay, Rexona, L'Oreal, Tips & Toes, Coke, Synergy and Ponds. She made her debut in Tamil film Kaadal Kavidhai but won acclaim for her role in En Swasa Katre opposite Arvind Swami. After a few stints down south, Eesha got her break in Bollywood in 2003 when she did an item number in Ram Gopal Verma’s Company. She has since been referred to as the ‘Khallas Girl’. After movies like Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat and Kaante, Eesha Koppikar became more than just an item number, she became a household name.

ROBERTO CAVALLI

World famous fashion designer Roberto Cavalli has dressed stars such as Lenny Kravitz, Madonna, Drew Barrymore, Sharon Stone, Jennifer Lopez, Gwyneth Paltrow, Beyoncé Knowles, Charlize Theron and Victoria Beckham, just to name a few. Cavalli pushes fashion to the limit by using fresh techniques and experimenting, making all his creations one of a kind! In 1980 Cavalli married Eva Duringer, who has been his lifelong companion and his inseparable business partner.

DONALD TRUMP, JR.

Trump, Jr., is an Executive Vice President at the Trump Organization. Trump, Jr., began work for the Trump Organization on projects in New York such as the West Side Yards and Trump Place on Riverside Drive . Since 2007, he has managed more than 33 national and international real estate projects. Recently, he has worked on the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago . Trump, Jr. has also appeared in NBC’s hit show "The Apprentice" alongside his father, Mr. Donald J. Trump, and his sister Ivanka. Trump Jr. and his wife Vanessa have a baby girl, Kai Madison Trump.

NADINE VELAZQUEZ

Actress Nadine Velazquez stars on the NBC smash hit sitcom "My Name is Earl" and was nominated in 2006 and 2007 for ‘Supporting TV Actress’ for the ALMA Awards. Velazquez was born inChicago, Illinois and has a BA degree in Marketing from Columbia College. She appeared in the 2004 film "Blast!" as well as the TV movie, "The Last Ride." Velazquez appeared on the January 2006 cover of Stuffmagazine, and was named #39 in the annual Maxim Hot 100 list. Velazquez is married to talent agent Marc Provissiero.

LOUIS LICARI

Hair stylist to the stars, Louis Licari, owns two successful salons in New York City and Beverly Hills. Known for his expertise in hair coloring, Licari joined the NBC "Today Show" team several years ago as a Contributing Editor and is now featured in the popular segment "Ambush Makeover."

JENNIFER HAWKINS

Australian native Jennifer Hawkins is no stranger to the Miss Universe Pageant as the proud winner of the coveted crown in 2004! Since returning to her native country after her reign, she has enjoyed a successful career as a model, spokeswoman, television host and actress. In 2006, Hawkins signed a lucrative endorsement deal to become the first Australian face of CoverGirl cosmetics. Hawkins was also a recent participant in Australia's "Dancing with the Stars" and appears as a presenter in the popular travel program "The Great Outdoors" on the Seven Network.

******The above set of judges are different from the preliminary judges which was said to have been composed of four Vietnamese. The preliminary judges were the ones responsible in selecting the Top 15 and the judges listed above are the ones who will select the Top 5 and eventually the winner.

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Issues on the Sash and the Wardrobe

Every year, we can't get rid of some controversies in the Miss Universe. This year, it has another share of controversies involving spelling of the sashes and wardrobe issues.

As vindicated by pictures at the right side, the sash of Miss Philippines, Jennifer Barrientos, was misspelled with double L's. The sash was only corrected after a week. *****

Miss Kosovo, Zana Krasniqi, took her two weeks before the organizer finally corrected her sash that was initially spelled as KOSOVA.

Instead of United Kingdom, the sash of Liza Lazarus was spelled only with UK and was never corrected.

This is not the first time a sash was mispelled. In 2006, the sash of Miss Sri Lanka, Jacqueline Fernandez, was just spelled as Srilanka.

Well, it is really proper to have a sash with the correct spelling of the country a candidate is representing since we are talking about national identity here. They say, though it's now cliche', the most priceless possession one has is its name.

On the other hand, Miss Puerto Rico Ingrid Rivera and Miss Philippines wore exactly the same outfit when all the contestants went to Hanoi, to the beautiful Halong Bay.

You can see from the pictures at your left the similar outfit they wore.*****

The question is: Who wore it better? Puerto Rico or Philippines.

Interestingly, both countries have a history of having massive beauty fans. Both are always engage in war of words in almost all discussion boards every year.

When voting is involve in the pageant, these two countries always battle it out to emerge as the winner.

This thing happened many times when Miss Photogenic was being selected by internet voting and the Philippines and Puerto Rico alternately won it.

Philippines won it from 1996 - 1997 and again in 2005 - 2007. Puerto Rico had it consecutively from 1998 until 2004 except in 2000.

*****All pictures were corrupted when the ownership of this blog was transferred to me. - Karl Zada 04 May 2009

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A Tiring Miss Universe 2008 Rehearsal

For 4 days now starting last 09 July, the candidates for the Miss Universe 2008 have been practicing or rehearsing their cues for the final telecast on 14 June 2008 at 8 am, Vietnam timezone.

Most of them are so tired as reported by mostly all journalists who are in Vietnam for the coverage. Most of the girls miss their family and boyfriends back home and they are lossing their interest for the crown. These girls are mostly from Europe.

Take a look at their pictures taken during unholy hours while they were practicing. (Picture was corrupted when the ownership of this blog was transferred to me. -Karl Zada 04 May 2009)

During the mock Top 15, these were the countries that were called: Spain, Philippines, Dominican Republic, Curacao, New Zealand, Turkey, Honduras, Vietnam, Georgia, Kazakhstan, France, Bolivia, Japan, Nicaragua and Belgium.

So how many of these girls will be likely in the actual Top 15? We'll find out tomorrow.

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Top 15 Predictions for Miss U 2008

Comes 14 July 2008 (Vietnam timezone) or evening of 13 July 2008, we'll be witnessing the crowning of a new Miss Universe titleholder. That is barely a day from now.

I'm pretty sure that most of you now have a list of your favorites and we'll about to know if we have an eye for beauty.

Below is the list of my predictions who will make to the Top 15 -  in no particular order:

1. USA
2. Venezeula
3. Colombia
4. Mexico
5. Dominican Republic
6. Japan
7. Philippines
8. Korea
9. India
10. Thailand
11. Vietnam
12. Australia
13. Spain
14. South Africa
15. Czeck Republic

The darkhorses are Kazahztan, Ireland, Israel, Norway, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Belgium and Indonesia.

I predict that the winner is from Asia again and the nearest to the crown is Miss Philippines, Jennifer Barrientos.

On the other hand, the Best in National Costume is chosen by an internet voting so you still have a day to vote for your bet. You can log in to missuniverse.com or to nbc.com to cast your vote.

My fearless forecast to win the Best in National Costume is Miss Philippines or Miss Puerto Rico, Ingrid Mendoza.

We'll see if I gonna hit the pot.

Enjoy.

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Miss Egypt slapped Miss Universe 2007, Riyo Mori

Miss Universe 2008 is gaining lots of controversies.

In her blog blog, Ines Ligron, the National Director of Japan wrote an incident about Miss Egypt, Yara Naoum (with picture at left) slapping outgoing Miss Universe 2007 Riyo Mori of Japan.

Mori accidentally stepped on the gown of Yara while they were preparing backsatge for the opening number. According to Ligron, Miss Egypt apologized after realizing it was Mori who got the slap.

These are the exact words of Ines: "Miss Egypt is a real pain in the neck; she slapped Riyo backstage when by mistake she stepped on her dress. Then she was horrified when she realized she just had slapped Miss Universe! LOL She was saying –“I am sorry I did not know that it was you!!”… Riyo told her: “it is okay, but you should not do that anyway to anyone, this is not really nice”. She was mortified."

Ines went on to say that Yara was also confronted by her roommate, Miss Canada Samantha Tajik, to stop smoking in their room.

Here is the words again from the blog of Ines: "Also she shares the room with is Canada and she smokes cigarettes after cigarettes and Miss Canada asked her kindly to pls go outside when she wishes to smoke. She turned around and said: “why? This is MY room?!” Nice girl indeed! Sometimes I wonder why this kind of girl bothers to come here…. "

Ines' blog generated much buzz in almost all discussion boards with some namecalling Miss Egypt.

On the other hand, Youssef Spahi, the National Director of Egypt, denounced what was written in the blog in an  Egyptian discussion board.

Below is the statement copied from the said website.

"The real story behind the gossip:

Miss Egypt Organization (Face To Face) is shocked by the article recently posted on Ines Ligron's blog concerning Miss Egypt Yara Naoum.The National Director, Mr. Youssef Spahi contacted Ms. Naoum immediately after the story appeared on the web and she denied all the allegations. 

We highly suspected that this actually happened because we are constantly in contact with Miss Universe Organization and they wouldn't accept such a behavior from any contestant towards the others, not to mention towards Miss Universe!

In her latest e-mail with Mr. Spahi, Annette Cammer thanked him for sending "such a wonderful girl". Miss Egypt Organization highly suspects the genuienity of the story coming from a source that already spread suspicious rumors about other delegates. We also highly suspect that these are Ms. Ligron’s words as Mr. Spahi personally knows her and knows this is not the attitude of a National Director who already produced a Miss Universe.

So what actually happened?

Regarding the incident with Miss Universe 2007, Riyo Mori, Ms. Noum assured us that this did not happen during the preliminary competition or in the backstage as the article suggests, it happened on the day of the gala dinner almost a week ago! 

“While all the girls were standing in lines outside their rooms getting ready to go down to the gala dinner, Miss Russia stepped on my dress by mistake and I couldn’t turn around, I just kept saying: My dress, my dress! And I leaned on someone behind me trying not to fall on the ground and to my shock that someone turned out to be Riyo Mori! We laughed it out and I apologized to her, of course I didn’t slap her or anyone else, this is not my attitude, absolutely ridiculous! I met Riyo again during the preliminaries and apologized once again, even though knowing I did nothing wrong, but out of courtesy to a Miss Universe titleholder and she was very nice to me and told me to take care because a lot of this will happen in the backstage”

According to this we highly suspect it is Ms. Ligron who wrote the article because although the story bares some truth it wouldn’t come from someone in her position and who is constantly in contact with Ms. Mori, unless that Ms. Ligron is no longer allowed to spend that much time with Riyo as her director or as a friend! 

The second incident with Miss Canada also bares some truth and lots of lies. 

According to the Miss Universe Organization’s Rules and Regulations, contestants should specify if they are smokers or non-smokers before they get to the host country, and Ms. Naoum specified in her application that she is a smoker and so the organizers accommodated her with Miss Canada, who is also a smoker, however she did not specify that in her application. It is also in the Organization’s rules that smoking contestants must not smoke outside their rooms!

“There was no problem with Miss Canada about smoking; she is also a smoker despite not mentioning that in her application! I always smoke in the bathroom only and I’m not a heavy smoker as well, but Miss Canada was not in the mood one day and she told the supervisor who later found cigarettes with Miss Canada herself and the whole thing came to an end, you can ask her yourself, we are good friends after all. It is normal to have such feelings out of stress and I understand what happened, believe me, there are lots of things that happen in the backstage!” said Ms. Naoum.

Again the correct story highly conflicts with what actually happened. It is just funny to read what the blog said about the whole situation.

“Miss Canada asked her kindly to pls go outside when she wishes to smoke. She turned around and said: “why? This is MY room?!” It makes you wonder if Ms. Ligron was actually with them in the room? The organizers are now planning to send a letter to Miss Universe Organization to investigate the incident and as Mr. Spahi was not able to go to Vietnam this year for personal reasons, MUO should not allow such a behavior to occur especially from a respectable National Director.

“I have been training the Egyptian representatives for ten years now, and as far as I know, our girls are known to be some of the most charming girls both on and back stage and there is no way that I would send a girl with such an attitude to Miss Universe even if I think she could win it all simply because she is representing my organization, name and country” said Mr. Spahi."

Ines Ligron's blog is actually generating lots of readers since last year since she is actually one of the few who is reporting behind-the-scene incidents which could not be found in most of the discussion boards.

We'll talk about her more next time.

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Update from Vietnam

I started blogging about beauty pageants late to cover what is happening right now in Vietnam for the Miss Universe 2008.

As of today, the 80 candidates are now rehearsing for the coronotion night on Monday, 14 July 2008 (Vietnam time). Two days ago, they had the preliminary show where the candidates battled for the top 10, another 5 will be chosen by Donald Trump, the owner of the pageant.

I will do some post reporting in the coming days but as of now we will go with the flow.

In the preliminary show, they paraded in their swimsuits and evenings gowns. The ladies that were reported who have nailed it are:

1. Venezuela
2. Mexico
3. Colombia
4. Spain
5. Korea
6. Japan
7. Thailand
8. Norway
9. Australia
10. Brazil
11. India
12. South Africa
13. Belgium
14. Trinidad and Tobago
15. Surprisingly, the Philippines

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Miss Universe 2008

Folks, Miss Universe 2008 is now ongoing in Saigon, Vietnam. The candidates started arriving last 17 June 2008 and the coronotion is slated on 13 July 2008.

Who will succeed 2007 Miss Universe Riyo Mori of Japan?

According to Japan's National Director, Ines Ligron, a Frenchwoman, this year is the weakest batch.

Let's take a look at the favourites to win the crown.

CRITICAL BEAUTY:

Antigua and Barbuda, Colombia, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Kazakhstan, Korea, Mexico, Norway, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, USA and Venezuela.

The inclusion of Miss Philippines was globally attacked by non-Filipinos who always bash a Philippine delegate year after year.

GLOBAL BEAUTIES:

Here they are:

Mexico, Venezuela, USA, Panama, Puerto Rico, Norway, Belgium, South Africa, Australia, Colombia, India, Kosovo, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic and Germany

MISSOSOLOGYalso disclosed their Top 15 predictions and they are (in order): Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Czech Republic, Puerto Rico, Mexico, USA, Korea, Belgium, Australia, India, Brazil, Norway, South Africa and Kosovo.

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