Sunday 31 October 2010

Miss Chinese International 2010 preview

MCI 10 is finally here! After 10 months of waiting we are finally going to see what "big things" TVB planned for this pageant. Sadly though it doesn't seem to be any different from before. Minimal promotion and only a handful of beautiful girls. Hopefully the production value will be big as Miss International will be one day after on the 7th. Anyway this years batch is not very competitive. At the moment I can name the 3 girls who I want crowned quite easily. Afterwards there is a huge pack of girls trying to impress. This year to me, pre-show, 3 girls stand out from the rest whilst the others are difficult to separate. So here are my Top 3 as of 31st October.

Winner
19. Vancouver

Will Vancouver crown their 5th MCI? It has been 5 years since Vancouver topped the MCI podium. Since 2005 they have made the Top 5 twice with Crystal Li in 2006 and Cici Chen last year. Who can forget the fantastic streak of 4 crowns in 5 years dominated by Vancouver. The beautiful Bernice Liu and Linda Chung represented Vancouver at MCI so could Eliza Sam make it up there as well? I personally think Eliza Sam stands out amongst the rest of the girls. She has yet to take a bad photo, however her height is of dire concern. At 5'4.5'' she'll be one of the shortest candidates and, if she wins, one of the shortest winners in MCI history. However Sarah Song was short but she managed to take the crown home in 2007. However Sarah Song has really been an exception to the case for the past many years as most MCIs stand at 5'6 and above, we'll see what happens with this Vancouverite beauty (who I also add is one of the oldest candidates here at 25!)

1st Runner Up
2. Amsterdam

Amsterdam is a demure looking beauty, she looks sweet and sincere but I'm worried about her charisma. What Amsterdam will have at least is great momentum from past European delegates. If you do not follow MCI you won't know that every year Europe only sends one delegate to MCI, which I believe is utter stupidity, but the girls they have sent have excelled recently. In 2007 Chinzy Choi, another Dutch girl, made the Top 10, a deserved placement in what was deemed a victory for the struggling European continent. In 2008 Oceane Zhu from Paris managed to win the title (in what I must say was an awfully staged year), and finally last year in 2009 Julie Lam from Germany managed to make the Top 5. Now this success in the past 3 years surely exceeds most other cities but MC Europe still continue to send one delegate compared to the army of girls China sends - 6 this year but in 2008 they sent 11! Anyway if the judges see what I see Miss Amsterdam will surely make the Top 5 cut at least.


2nd Runner Up
18. Toronto

In the pageant world Canada may not be a big name but in MCI Canada will always be the top of the pack. Canadian cities have won 8 MCI crowns out of the possible 21, Toronto having 3 of their own and the current MCI Christine Kuo. So I think it may be a struggle for Toronto to win it again this year, Vancouver is the only country to have won back to back, they did it twice! But Miss Toronto this year is no push over, I believe the best photos of this pageant has been of this girl but sadly she also has some dodgy ones lying about as well, that's why she only makes 2nd Runner Up on my list. However a 35-23-35 figure should not leave her unnoticed, she is still one of the strongest competitors here and a worthy candidate for Miss Toronto, who have sent amazing delegates such as Christine Kuo, Sherry Chen, Elva Ni, Diana Wu, Christie Bartram, Monica Lo, the wife of Donnie Yen and even a Miss World Top 5 girl!


After this brilliant 3 I have a hard time deciding my Top 5. I do currently have a Top 10 but they can easily change. The other 7 girls are...
Melbourne, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Singapore, Hebei, Guangdong

Whilst I have 6 alternatives also,
Auckland, Hong Kong, Macau, Sydney, Guangzhou, Henan

I am still unsure how to chose from these remaining 13 (and of course the other 8 girls I have not considered for my Top 10). This year MCI has fallen down slightly, I love my Top 3 but I have to say if they don't win MCI10 this year will be awful in comparison to the gorgeous winners that have come out in the past few years from MCI.

Just wanted to add. What happened to you Laura Li (No.8, Macau). When I saw her a year ago at Miss Macau she was the standout. Whilst a bit stiff she looked beautiful and vibrant, now she looks old and uncompetitive - WHAT HAPPENED!

P.S. I applaud TVB for their promo videos, they look awesome!

Miss International 2010

Personally I think this years pageant scene has been fantastic with MU, MW, MI and Miss Venezuela having some extraordinary delegates however the winners haven't lived up to the standard I think. Hopefully Miss International will not follow suit as I think Miss International has an extremely strong selection of girls this year.

I have compiled a list of favourites and a general list of girls I have taken a note of, 34 in total. My Top 12 at the moment are,

Japan - She is the perfect mix of cute, sophisticated, beautiful and charismatic.
Philippines - The frontrunner supposedly, but I think she won't win the crown and to be honest she is one of many frontrunners. Something about her nose irks me as well.
Puerto Rico - Her height, body and looks will take her far.
Venezuela - Elizabeth continues the line of beautiful girls from Miss Venezuela 2009.
Thailand -  She's a lovely girl who looks beautiful in all her shots.
Czech Republic - A gorgeous girl
India - Not the prettiest but she is still a classic beauty with a fun personality.
Costa Rica - beautiful
Germany - A hidden gem she'll stand out more if she shows more personality.
Greece - She still hasn't shone but she has the potential.
United Kingdom - Her look is distinct, she carries herself really well.
Canada - I love her, but at times I worry she's too similar to UK.

Then there are 11 girls in the next group
Sweden - She can be part of the Top 12 but I just forget about her at times.
Korea - Korea is beautiful, what she now needs to learn is she doesn't look her best with her hair swept off her face.
Jamaica - Potential stunner
USA - consistent beauty
Mexico - I love her national costume shots, sadly I haven't seen much else of her.
Brazil - I like Brazil but I think she's overrated atm, we'll see
Finland - She's also slightly overrated atm but we'll see
Kenya - I see potential - in the only shot I've seen of her in this pageant
Singapore - She looks cute and is one of the strongest candidates from Singapore ever I think. She just needs to know her angles.
Colombia - A nice girl
Poland - I like her but don't love her.

Then there are 11 more I'm keeping my eye on.
El Salvador, Ecuador, Italy, Guatemala, Turkey, Mongolia, Bolivia, Sri Lanka, Australia and Chile

Hope my decisions will be finalised by next Friday but at the moment my Top 5 will probably be...
Japan, Philippines, Venezuela, Thailand, Czech Republic
The Asians have come out in force!

Saturday 30 October 2010

Miss World Review

I didn't watch Miss World because I knew I'll be as bored as when I watched Miss Venezuela but I just saw the results and I'm shocked. I'm quite happy, it could have gone better but overall it was a decent result. Here it is.

Miss World 2010: USA - Alexandria Mills
1st Runner Up: Botswana - Emma Wareus
2nd Runner Up: Venezuela - Adriana Vasnini
3rd Runner Up: Ireland - Emma Britt Waldron
4th Runner Up: China - Xiao Tang
5th Runner Up: Norway - Mariann Birkedal
6th Runner Up: Italy - Giada Pezzaioli

The rest of the 25
Bahamas, Canada, Colombia, France, French Polynesia, Germany, Kenya, Mongolia, Namibia, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Russia, St.Lucia, Scotland, South Africa, Thailand


That means from the predictions I made, excluding fast track winners as they were predetermined, I got 11 out of 20, 16/25 sounds better to me :) From my 12 sure bets I did get 8 but from my 8 unsure candidates 5 didn't make it through.

I thought India's Manasvi Mamgai was still safe because she's a stunner but I guess India's pattern continues, 2 years in 1 year out. Has been going on since 1996!
I put Australia's Ashleigh Francis in my sure bets only because she seemed to be doing well in fast track events.
I used the same logic for Slovakia's Marina Georgievova but I honestly thought she was going to be chosen, maybe it was her sash.
I chose Ghana on the same basis as Australia but also because I thought they would have about 4 girls from Africa - they did, just not her.

Out of the unsure 8 I was wrong with Mexico, Philippines, Argentina, Belarus, Belgium
I'm not that shocked with any of them not placing. Mexico didn't really have any momentum going into the finals even though she was beautiful. Philippines also, she gained a lot of momentum but then lost it quite quickly. Argentina seemed to do well in fast-tracks but nobody really focused on her and Belgium seemed to fit MW's style but was not focused on at all. Finally Belarus was just a filler for my Top 25.

I did however get 6 out of the 7 finalists. Go me! lol
So I missed out on;
Italy - It's quite interesting seeing her up there at 7th as I never would have guessed it.
Bahamas - Go Braneka!
Canada - Who? Was Canada even competing? jk
Colombia - I'll take Anabel Solis Sosa thank you.
Germany - She was part of my more alternatives group :)
Namibia - Quite shocked, she didn't strike me as a potential Top 25 from Africa. I would definitely have considered Ethiopia and Zimbabwe before her.
Paraguay - Supposedly many considered her a dark horse for the Top 25, she totally flew under my radar.
Scotland - I was unsure on whether to name her as Northern Ireland and Ireland had already secured a spot, but I would definitely put her in my Top 25.

In terms of my favourites they did worse. Only 12 of my Top 25 made the list but if you included my Alternatives I would have made 16/25. To this day I do not understand why people like Xiao Tang from China. She just looked plain to me, the only thing going for her was her height. Remember I'm Chinese and even I don't agree with her looks! I'm slightly warming to French Polynesia but still not enough for me to have put her in my Top 25.

I am happy that Miss USA won instead of Miss Norway. Norway is a pretty girl but I just don't think she is good enough for the crown. USA in my opinion is a better delegate than Norway, whilst there were 11 girls I'd put before her it was definitely nice to see her win rather than it being all extremely predictable (it was only slightly predictable with Miss USA winning. lol) I am happy that Botswana and Venezuela made the Top 3 as they completed a beautiful trio. Whilst Botswana was only in my Top 15 I consider her as one of the most beautiful girls in the pageant and Venezuela is one of my sentimental favourites, she did herself proud. I do believe the Venezuelan delegates this year were really strong and all deserve a spot in their respective pageants. Ireland placing 4th was a pleasing shock, I did consider her a crown prospect. China placing 5th was yet again disappointing to me but at least she didn't make the Top 3 photo! :)

Whilst I feel a bit bad saying this I'm extremely happy Norway got cut before the Top 5, it just made the pageant more interesting. And I don't think she deserves a Top 5 spot.

Guys what if the Top 7 went like this, would you think it'd be worse, better or about the same?

Miss World 2010: Ireland
1st Runner Up: Thailand
2nd Runner Up: Venezuela
3rd Runner Up: Puerto Rico
4th Runner Up: Slovakia
5th Runner Up: South Africa
6th Runner Up: Russia

See you at Miss International!

Elena Dementieva retires!


It's such a shame to see one of my favourite tennis players retire, especially without a coveted Grand Slam to her name when she definitely deserves one. Elena has been at the top of women's tennis for so long that it's going to be weird without her, the tour already seems so different from 4-5 years ago.

I hope Elena continues to lead a happy life and succeeds in whatever she does in the future. You were a fantastic player and will be sorely missed.

Every Move You Make


Every Move You Make is an ok drama in this year's bunch but what pissed me off a bit was the constant referral to "reading people", it just grated on my nerves. However I must say it was a decent watch and at times quite interesting it also tried to break the general style of TVB. Onto the nominations

Best Actor
No Nominations
I found Bowie a bit stiff in this drama, he did well but not enough for me.

Best Actress
Crystal Tin
I think she performed really well in this role but there is something about Crystal's face that just doesn't look natural. Anyway I liked her portrayal of this character, hope to see more of her.

Best Supporting Actor
Bosco Wong
There were cringe-worthy moments but I think he did well enough to be nominated for Best Supporting.

Chris Lai
He didn't have that many notable scenes but I think he performed well throughout the series. I just wish Chris Lai gets a big break one day as he deserves it.

Best Supporting Actress
Susan Tse
It's nice to see her play a "weaker" woman. She was stiff at times but overall she put in a good performance.

Most Improved Actress
Aimee Chan
She's slowly becoming more natural, whilst her emotional scenes were slightly overdone she did well in general.

Recognition Award
I have a slurry of these to give out as a lot of these actors only appeared in a few episodes so I couldn't really nominate them for best supporting.

Halina Tam
Halina performed really well I thought, she is too underrated.

Nancy Wu
She just stood out from the others, she really is one of TVB's best rising stars.

Tsui Wing
It was nice to see him portray a more serious role. I'm recognising him for a smooth change in role types rather than great acting.

Angela Tong
She really stood out in her role, I was a bit sad to see the end of her story because she really did amazingly well here.

Miss World 2010 preview

I have been trying my best to follow the monstrosity that is Miss World. It is such a large pageant that it's difficult to notice all 115 girls. On top of that there aren't any official photos of the girls so it's difficult to keep track of all of them. Anyway I have compiled a list (to the best of my ability) of my favourites.

My Top 10 (in to particular order)...
Thailand - I just love her, the nose thing is a slight distraction.
Venezuela - Adriana is just beautiful, hope she doesn't follow Marelisa.
Puerto Rico - I love her energy and vibe
Slovakia - Beautiful and sweet
Ireland - Talented and gorgeous
South Africa - I've really liked her since seeing her perform at MU
India - She is still stunning despite not being a favourite anymore
Scotland - go Scotland!
Russia - A distinct beauty
Mexico - Underrated beauty


Then I have these 5 girls rounding out my Top 15
Korea - There's something undeniable about her, she does freak me out at times but I always want more of her.
Botswana - She is very beautiful indeed.
England - Ok, patriotism may have factored in but I still think England is very sweet looking. The best bunch from the British Isles in ages.
USA - A fierce underdog who has fought her way into contention.
Philippines - She has done better than I thought.

And now, disregarding fast track events, these girls would have made my Top 25
Norway - I like her but she shouldn't win the crown. I remember seeing her Fadil shot in MU08 and thinking woah! but was sorely let down by her after seeing other photos which were less than impressive. She's nice but not worthy of the win.
Martinique - A nice vibe
Mongolia - Pretty and with lots of energy
Bahamas - Go Braneka!
Moldova - I didn't even notice her until yesterday
Trinidad and Tobago - She's actually very pretty, shame she isn't getting any attention.
Ethiopia - Another T&T
Zimbabwe - A very strong bunch from Africa this year, with more exposure she could topple Botswana or S.Africa.
Ukraine - She has some stunning angles, she'll need to work it more.
Greece - I haven't seen much of her but I'm working on potential here.

Alternatives
France - She has let me down. I still like her but she looks tired.
Belgium - Hasn't made any waves, she is still pretty but that's not enough.
Netherlands - A pretty girl
Aruba - I like her style
Curacao - Go Angenie, though she has lost her edge at MW.
Sweden - I like Sweden but at times I dislike her too. She's too edgy for MW.
Guyana - People will probably disagree but I find her quite attractive, especially her smile.

I'm just throwing in a few more potentials...
Singapore
Germany
St. Lucia
Israel
Indonesia
Sri Lanka
Vietnam

I honestly don't understand what people see in China and French Polynesia. I find both of them quite old looking and China to be plain, nowhere near as beautiful as Zhang Zilin.

Sorry I can't be bothered to find photos of all the girls because there are just so many to sift through that aren't categorized. Just go to globalbeauties to find photos if you don't know what I'm talking about.

Ok so I need to factor in that Northern Ireland and Kenya are already part of the 25 (but not part of my lists) so if I had to substitute two girls from my top 25 I would go for Ethiopia and Martinique.

If like last year they have a Top 7 I would sadly have to detract Russia, Mexico and Scotland from my Top 10 list.

In terms of predictions I think these 25 girls will probably make the cut,
Fast-tracks
Puerto Rico
Norway
Northern Ireland
Kenya
Ireland

12 girls
China
French Polynesia
Russia
USA
India
Thailand
Australia
Botswana
Slovakia
South Africa
St. Lucia
Ghana

There are 8 more girls I don't want to commit to as I'm not convinced but I can't get a list of 25.
Mexico - I'm not sure she's going to continue the run
Philippines - she has that demure look which may place her
Venezuela - they didn't get in last year
Mongolia - rather than Kazakhstan (two year streak) they push in Mongolia?
Argentina - She has done well in FT events
Belgium - demure looking
France - demure looking?
Belarus - don't really know why I put her here

Basically it's quite a tough challenge predicting the 25 but I guess this is my list.

I wonder how the all MW panel of judges will decide on the winner. I think the girl will have to be demure and quite traditional looking so I think Norway and Ireland are probably the only girls who fit the bill.

Friday 29 October 2010

Miss Venezuela 2010 Review

I am an avid fan of pageants but no avid fan can proclaim to be without having watched Miss Venezuela, at least once I think, as it's definitely the most important national pageant of the year. As I had free time on my hands and this year's delegates were awesome, I decided to go for it, not knowing that the pageant was a 5 hour snorefest! Maybe to the Venezuelans' this was a night of celebration and entertainment but as I had no idea what they were talking about Miss Venezuela really did not accommodate for people like me - they shouldn't need to though. I have to say Miss Venezuela is possibly the most boring pageant I've watched (though I haven't watched many). The result was less than pleasing, I'll go into that a in a little bit. But honestly we only got to see the girls for about 1 hour of the total 5 and the whole thing was done to the same tone as Miss Universe, they definitely need to mix it up. Come next year I'm not sure I can be bothered to watch this even if the delegates are as good as this years.

So this year they awarded all the 4 major crowns and 4 other girls will be picked for Miss Supranational, Reina Hispanoamericana, International Queen of Coffee and Miss Atlantico International. I hope Miss Monagas gets to go to Supranational or Reina Hispanoamericana. Supranational, although an infant pageant, could potentially become a big name in a few years time - despite me thinking it uncompetitive whilst Reina Hispanoamericana is competitive but only in a continental scale. I have no interest in the Coffee thing, it sounds stupid and I've never heard of Atlantico International.

So before the pageant you might remember I posted a favourites list; beware this was not a prediction list, here is how it went,

Miss Venezuela Universe: Distrito Capital
Miss Venezuela World: Monagas
Miss Venezuela International: Bolivar
Miss Venezuela Earth: Carabobo
1st Runner Up: Canaima

Top 10: Amazonas, Aragua, Delta Amacuro, Tachira, Zulia

If you don't know the actual results brace yourself now,

Miss Venezuela Universe: Miranda
Miss Venezuela World: Amazonas
Miss Venezuela International: Distrito Capital
Miss Venezuela Earth: Aragua
1st Runner Up: Monagas

After the show this changed a bit and I'll now document it all for you :)

Amazonas
I am not part of the legions of people who find her ugly, in fact I think she's quite beautiful, but definitely not the most beautiful in this year's competitive field. I placed her, just, in my Top 10 before the first cut. She performed decently throughout, though sometimes a bit predictably. After the Top 10 cut and the Q&A's I also considered her as part of my Top 5 as Carabobo failed to impress me in the Q&A (despite me not understanding a single word!) However here's the deal, out of the Top 10 she was my 6th/7th favourite, I wouldn't mind if she won a crown however considering Monagas and Distrito Capital placed below her I was a bit shocked she managed the title of Venezuela World. I hope she does well at Miss World but to be honest I'm not sure she's going to make an impact if Adriana Vasini (Miss Venezuela World 2009) isn't.


Anzoategui
Was she going to make the Top 10? No. Was she memorable? No. Not much to say really. 25th on the night for me.


Apure
I like Miss Apure despite her tendency to look a bit masculine at times but I like a lot of girls this year. 24th on the night.


Aragua
To me I knew Aragua was a dark horse in my favourites list but I never expected her to do well on the night. How wrong was I. She was definitely one of the pleasing shocks of the night and I personally placed her 2nd overall on the night. It was lovely to see her win the Miss Earth crown because her performance was worthy of one, however I must say she doesn't strike me as a Miss Venezuela. I think it's because she doesn't exude that personality you come to expect from Venezuelan delegates and, in fact, she looks too demure for a Miss Venezuela but I hope she does well at Miss Earth because she was probably the prettiest on the night. Just to tell you I would have awarded her the Miss Venezuela International Crown.


Barinas
I never really understood the love for Miss Barinas until I saw her tonight. She had that appeal and attraction that just screamed a Miss Venezuela. I think her hair helped her a lot as she stood out, in a good way. I was shocked she didn't make the Top 10, if she did she would really have mixed up my top 5 list as I like her but I have other favourites I like more than her but didn't do so well on the night.


Bolivar
I still love Bolivar but on the night she didn't look her best, I understood why the judges cut her, but I just wish they gave her a second chance in the Top 10. On the night she just didn't sparkle, her styling didn't work and her dress was crazy. It was a shame to see this favourite of mine fall out of contention as I still believe she is one of the prettiest girls in the bunch with a killer smile.


Canaima
I love Canaima, she was my 1st Runner Up before the finals night. I was extremely shocked she made it into the Top 10 though, she just didn't strike me as what Miss Venezuela is looking for, even a fan like me had to question, was her placement worthy? Whilst I love Canaima and believe she as well is one of the prettiest girls there I just didn't think she performed on the night. She felt flat and slightly too nervous through most of the night so I was shocked to hear her named as one of the Top 10 when I thought girls like Bolivar and Yaracuy were bigger favourites than her. However I applaud her for making the Top 10 because she is a gorgeous girl.


Carabobo
As I have said before I think Carabobo's style is overdone and that's probably why she missed out on a Top 5 spot. I also think she didn't sparkle compared to my other favourites of the night. She placed a decent 8th place for me before the Top 10 cut but honestly she should have been in the Top 5. There was just something disappointing about her whole performance and her Q&A didn't look good either. All in all I was slightly shocked she didn't make the Top 5 (not as shocked as Monagas not winning a crown) but I totally understand why. However saying that if I had my say I would have awarded her with the Miss Venezuela Earth title.


Cojedes
I don't like her that much, she just doesn't attract me. 27th on the night.


Costa Oriental
One of the more muted surprises of the night. I hadn't really considered her before the competition but she performed well enough to put her into the Top 10. I personally placed her 11th so I didn't mind her placing. However in the Top 10 she looked inadequate compared to the others imo. She just didn't look like she belonged there and it was right not to put her any further.


Delta Amacuro
Delta Amacuro was a disappointment to me. She just didn't perform and didn't look as pretty as she has been in the competition. Her evening gown performance was good but the rest was only satisfactory. I really liked her, though I didn't think she'd place, I wanted her to do well. But in the end I placed her 18th before the first cut.


Dependencias Federales

This was one of the biggest, good, shocks of the night. She looked beautiful in all rounds and really put herself in a very good position before the Top 10 cut. I was slightly disappointed she was left out but I wasn't throwing hissy fits like when Monagas went without a crown! I'm repeating myself too many times. She was unexpectedly good throughout the show and I applaud her for making a very good impression.


Distrito Capital
To me Distrito Capital still has the package, I wouldn't say she was the best on the night (I placed her 3rd) but she definitely deserved better than the Miss Venezuela International crown when you look at who won the other two. However I don't think she sparkled as brightly as some other girls on the night, she was a highly competent performer but she didn't make the biggest impact in any of the segments like she should have. However I would still have awarded her with the Miss Venezuela World crown as I think she really does have the potential to make it big - I think Miss Venezuela org didn't want her competing in Universe or World because she "only" came 3rd at Earth so it's unlikely she'll win at Miss Universe.


Falcon
I don't understand why people disliked her so much on the night, I personally found her very pretty on the night and strongly in the mid tables at 14th. To me she was quite endearing and sweet looking so I was confused why so many thought she looked ugly and undeserving of any consideration.


Guarico
I placed her 28th, end of.


Lara
I think halfway into the competition many expected Lara to potentially produce a shock on the finals night. It died down a little bit but I think people expected a Top 10 placement. Whilst she looked beautiful in the Evening Gown round she didn't perform as well throughout the night. I found her walk slow rather than elegant, in the swimsuit round she took ages to complete her walk. I placed her 16th on the night but to be honest I wouldn't mind if she took a Top 10 position.


Merida
She isn't bad it's just that she didn't impress me. She placed 23rd on the night for me.


Miranda
Here's the low-down with Miranda, the Miss Venezuela Universe 2010. She isn't ugly, in fact she is quite pretty (even on the night) but to me, at least, she was too quiet, there's no latina personality oozing out of her. She also loves fake tan and she has a tendency to look old. If she performed on the night I would be happy for her considering she was touted to make an impact on the night but sadly I think she fell flat in most segments so I'm baffled how she won the title. I was shocked she made the Top 10 and even more shocked she made the Top 5 so what do you expect when I heard her name announced as Miss Universe Venezuela 2010! I had her at 20th before the 1st cut and 10th out of the Top 10. I just didn't expect Miranda to win after her performance. I hope she does well in Miss Universe as at the moment I think she's a weaker competitor than Ly, Dayana, Stefania and Marelisa but I do see her making the Top 15 next year. Why does she remind me of the scary Kristen Dalton, who, I hasten to add, hate.


Monagas
After her introductory walk  I was sold. She blew everybody out the window. She looked stunning and possessed the Miss Venezuela vibe through and through. To me she is a much prettier and feminine looking version of Ly Jonaitis. Before the pageant I had always placed her below Distrito Capital but after tonight she had become the queen bee. I happily put her as my favourite and Miss Venezuela Universe 2010. So what do you think happened when Monagas was named as 1st Runner Up, without the Miss Venezuela Universe crown or any other crown at that. I was PISSED! The way that it was announced was also pretty confusing for someone who doesn't speak Spanish. There was just a moment of silence as the crowd, competitors, the presenters and me including just stood there thinking, what? What was Miss Monagas being called out for I wondered. Until I saw the flowers being handed and the murmurs and disappointment on Monagas' face did I realise that Monagas, the best of the night, had come out empty handed. If you followed the pageant like I did the only sound you heard from the crowd was MONAGAS MONAGAS MONAGAS throughout the night even when Nueva Esparta walked on. I just don't understand. She performed so well on the night, yes her walk verged towards the extreme side but that's what made her memorable and her face was a million dollars. She has the sass of a Miss Venezuela and the workings to become the next Miss Universe. And her imperfections could have quickly been cleaned up by Osmel e.g. her over-exaggerated walk could have been trained so that it was distinct but not crazy. Even if she didn't win the crown of Miss Universe at least give her World, International or Earth! I was just so disappointed and as one fan said "You sure they didn't read the list the wrong way round?" As Monagas winning Universe, Aragua winning world and Amazonas winning Earth sounds much more plausible and would be much preferred by me and the many who stayed up for 5 hours watching this catastrophe unfold.


Nueva Esparta
Many girls can fade away after a girl the calibre of Miss Monagas walks before you but Nueva Esparta didn't. She was the best shock of the night. She came out of nowhere for many fans. I liked her a lot from the start, I was slightly put off by the chin though but since she dyed her hair she really became a frontrunner for me, shame she didn't dye her hair earlier. She placed 7th on my list and after the Top 10 I put her as my 1st Runner Up. She wasn't right for a Miss Venezuela but she performed really well throughout the night so she deserved to be considered. She was also different to most girls. Her Q&A looked exceptionally honest and truthful, there was no fake smiles, no move to impress the judges and the crowd with pageant studied moves, she was fresh. She could have done it in a better way though and that's why she lost some marks with me but all in all Nueva Esparta was definitely one of the highlights of the night.


Peninsula de Paraguana
As somebody said "she looks like my grandma". Whilst I'm not as harsh as that I just don't think she looked fresh for Miss Venezuela.


Portuguesa
Somebody said she looked like Marelisa Gibson. HOW? Despite Marelisa's nose job I think she is gorgeous and full of personality, totally deserving of a Top 15 at Miss Universe. You can't compare Marelisa with this girl. They look nothing alike despite the way their hair was done. Portuguesa is not ugly, she is quite pretty in fact, but she doesn't have that X-factor that Miss Venezuela's have. I placed her 21st.


Sucre
This girl just didn't do it for me, it was the nose. She can look gorgeous but to me she just wasn't near the top rung at all. I placed her 24th.


Tachira
Whilst I like Tachira her performance on the night was just too pageant patty. What defined her was her pageant patty laugh that is characterised with all pageant patty delegates who think that looks sexy, it doesn't, it just looks like you have tried to study past delegates and over-exaggerated their moves. I still like Tachira but her performance was wholly inadequate. I placed her 15th on the night.


Truljillo
Truljillo, like Costa Oriental and Falcon, was a nice shock to me. I hadn't considered any of them before the finals night but their performance just put them on the map. Truljillo looked beautiful in her evening gown. Though the colour was a bit like Marmite, you either loved it or hated it I thought it really made her sparkle. To me she actually looked slightly Indian in that dress. But a nice surprise. I put her 13th.


Vargas
Nice girl just don't really remember her.


Yaracuy
I think Yaracuy worked on the same tune as Miss Monagas, they tried to mix it up a bit, but it just didn't work as well as Monagas, though it still worked well. I like Yaracuy and applaud her for her energy throughout the night. I was slightly shocked she didn't make the Top 10 considering she was quite memorable and made it onto 6th on my leaderboard but I wouldn't have put her any further than Top 10.


Zulia
Finally! the last girl. Zulia was a real dark horse from me before the finals night. I still love her but she didn't make a large enough impact on me. She placed 12th on my list and I was happy with her Top 10 placement but yes she should have been excluded from Top 5.


So if you didn't catch that my Top 10 would have been;
Monagas
Aragua
Barinas
Distrito Capital
Nueva Esparta
Dependencias Federales
Yaracuy
Bolivar
Carabobo
Amazonas

So I made 6 but my two alternates were Costa Oriental and Zulia and I would have loved for Canaima to make the Top 10 so in fact 9 out of 10 :p lol.

I was a bit disappointed that Barinas and Bolivar didn't make it but oh well I don't think I would have given them a crown.

Also if you didn't catch my rankings on the night here would have been how I'd have given the crowns.
Miss Venezuela Universe: Monagas
Miss Venezuela World: Distrito Capital
Miss Venezuela International: Aragua
Miss Venezuela Earth: Carabobo
1st Runner Up: Nueva Esparta
Honourable Mentions for Crowns; Amazonas, Barinas, Bolivar

Miss World up next, hope it won't be like this, if Norway wins I'll be disappointed.
I also want to say I disliked the staging of the pageant. For the swimsuit segment I loved the initial posing and walking down the stairs, the camera should have focused on that more. But then another flight of stairs! Too much! And the cameraman didn't really have to do anything as the girls just walked towards him. The evening gown segment was awful, they were just circling around really really slowly and so many of the dresses were ewww...


Miss Venezuela 2010 update

Just wanted to make a quick announcement on how disappointed I am with the results for Miss Venezuela. I've never watched a pageant live, that I don't understand, but I made the exception for Miss Venezuela considering the strength of the field but the results are just... bad.

Anyway a more detailed post will be done later.

Tuesday 26 October 2010

Brother!!

Loving it, my brother just woke up at 2am! He was asleep for the whole day!

Sunday 24 October 2010

Brother!

Getting really pissed off with him, he just sits around all day doing nothing but playing facebook games. Actually he sits around all night as he only wakes up at 7pm! He also has the TV really loud for some reason tonight (it's 3am now!)

Saturday 23 October 2010

Miss Venezuela 2010

Miss Venezuela is without a doubt the national pageant every pageant fan focuses on. It's not necessarily that Miss Venezuela produces the best girls it's just that Miss Venezuela generally produces the most successful girls, but this year Miss Venezuela has found a bunch of beautiful girls also. That is why I am posting my favourites for the pageant on the 28th October.

10th - 6th
Amazonas

Aragua

Delta Amacuro

Tachira

Zulia

2nd Runner Up
Canaima
Nobody seems to care for Estefania but I find her one of the prettiest. She has a very sweet and demure look about her which is probably the main concern for a Venezuela candidate as they are known for their personality and sexuality.

1st Runner Up
Carabobo
I love Romina but I think she looks overdone at Miss Venezuela, in fact I find her candid shots much more beautiful than how she looks on stage. It's a shame she just missed out on a crown for me but I think she'll make it on the night.

Miss International Venezuela
Bolivar
Angela has really grown on me. I just love her effervescent smile. She exudes beauty but with confidence. I'm not sure she's what Miss Venezuela normally looks for but I think she has potential to make it up there.

Miss World Venezuela
Monagas
I don't necessarily find Angela the prettiest but she has that amazing allure that just leaves you stunned. Her skin tone and her gaze is mesmerising and she does look like a Miss Venezuela candidate. I don't think she'll be appreciated at Miss World though, so maybe I'd rather see her at Miss International or even Miss Universe.

Miss Universe Venezuela
Distrito Capital
I really do think Jessica has the whole package. She is beautiful both on stage and in candids and has the experience to propel her to a crown on the international stage. However I don't see her winning Miss Venezuela. I just hope she manages to place.

9 more wildcards
Apure
Barinas
Dependencias Federales
Lara
Merida
Miranda
Nueva Esparta
Vargas
Yaracuy

(so the other 9 that I haven't mentioned are the bottom 9)

My prediction;
I am so unsure who will get what I have just listed 8 delegates I think who will have the best chance of placing in the Top 5. 
Monagas, Amazonas, Lara, Distrito Capital, Carabobo, Bolivar, Miranda, Tachira