If your self-esteem is lacking...

all you need to do is go here, and imitate your favorite celebs.

Lowest Forms of Life

I've been meaning to post this for years, so here goes:

I'd have to say that the lowest form of life on the planet isn't a single-celled organism, it's the paparazzi.

The second lowest form of life would probably be the consumers of their work: celebrity magazine writers and editors.

The third lowest form of life is definitely anyone who enjoys watching celebrity gossip television or celebrity gossip magazines/blogs.

Don't believe me? Look at people who care about celebrity culture:

My MacBook is not an Apple. It is a LEMON

On what basis does Apple determine which repairs they will cover on Macs that are within the 1 year warranty? A month ago, Apple covered the replacement of my MacBook's "topcase" because some cracks had developed on the edge of the gray plastic panel surrounding the keyboard. They said that this was a common problem among the MacBooks. Yesterday, the gray plastic panel surrounding the LCD screen began to crack in the same manner. This part is made from the same kind of plastic, so I figured that they could fix it. Well, today, at the new W14th street store, no luck. The kid at the Genius bar very politely explained that SINCE THIS PART IS NOT CURRENTLY UNDER RECALL, IT IS NOT COVERED UNDER THE WARRANTY. Furthermore, the kid said that he'd never seen this problem on other MacBooks. Interestingly, he also said that if they see enough people coming in with the same problem, maybe they'd change their mind. That's a load of bull$#!+, don't you think? SO, my question is... Does a part have to be under recall in order for it to be repaired under warranty? Does it have to be a predetermined issue before they will acknowledge that this is a workmanship problem? I'd like to think that the nice kid made a mistake, or that there was some sort of miscommunication. But this experience left me pretty p!$$ed off at the way they handled my situation. PS: The last time I had gone to the Genius Bar, the guy tried to sell me that preferred customer thing. He smiled like a used car salesman and explained that with the preferred customer status, my computer would be fixed ahead of everyone else's. When I declined, he said that he'd do everything he could to handle my repair quickly anyways, but the next time, I might not be so lucky. I had to wipe all the slime off my computer when he was done with it. What do you think is going on here?

Random Shit about Me

I was tagged by fellow Rice Daddy, Daddy In A Strange Land (DISL) a couple of weeks ago, but haven't gotten around to posting till now. I'm just following the rules, so here goes... I don't know too many bloggers, so I'm sending this to Feliza, Two Warriors, Carissa, Jennifer, Gil, Janette, Marty, Melissa Rules: Once tagged, you must link to the person who tagged you. Then post the rules before your list, and list 8 random things about yourself. At the end of the post, you must tag and link to 8 other people, visit their sites, and leave a comment letting them know they’ve been tagged.

1. I was born four days before DISL. You do the math.
2. The day after DISL announced he was writing his novel, my friend Sean asked me, "So how's your novel coming along?" I was like, "What novel? Just cuz I quit my job doesn't mean I'm writing a novel. You must have me confused with my RiceDaddy brother out in Bakersfield."
3. When I came to this country, I had no money and I couldn't speak a word of English. I was such a baby.
4. My grandfather first came to this country as a student in the 1920s. He went to school in Chicago.
5. When I was a kid, I seriously thought that the Philippines was in JFK International Airport. I thought my relatives lived at the airport, because that's where we picked them up whenever they visited from the Philippines.
6. I am probably one of the few Asian guys who can play the 5-string banjo.
7. I have to put a lot of effort into acting "normal" because I'm a really sick fuck. Technically, textbook insane. If you know me, you already knew that, or maybe not...
8. When my wife & I were planning our wedding, we decided to have it in the Philippines cuz we thought it would be fun to bring our white friends to a third-world country and have them kidnapped. Their parents were not amused:

21 - Another Film Worth Pirating

If you wanna know why you should pirate this film, Angry Asian Man says it best. So click here to see why, and then pirate the hell out of this movie when it comes out. Hollywood producers should never profit from whitening a story.

Emirates Air Agent Nouman Ali WAS an Infidel

UPDATE: Looks like our hard-nosed efforts paid off. Emirates returned our money the other day. It shouldn't have taken this long, but at least we got our money back. Remember, boys and girls: never let anyone treat you the way Emirates Airlines did. If they do, just give them hell like we did, and don't let up until you get what's yours. ---------- Refunds USA Oct 18, 2007 10:18 AM

Dear SoulSnax, We have received your refund request. As per Expedia's itinerary and your credit card statements, we come to know that only one ticket 176 7063673674 (your ticket) was valid. The other ticket number 176 7063673493 appears to be invalid and we are unable to retrieve this ticket from our accounting system. Due to this, you were asked to purchase a separate ticket for Mrs. SoulSnax ( ticket # 176 2102131351). We suggest that you take this matter with Expedia, as these tickets were issued and purchased from them.

Sincerely,

Nouman Ali Sr. Accounts Assistant Fares and Refunds Emirates USA 212-758-3944x274

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Dear Mr. Ali: No offense, but had you thoroughly reviewed the documents that we sent by mail, you would see that a refund is due immediately. Therefore, I am sending the very same documents as a .pdf attachment. Please review it thoroughly this time. It is quite clear, in the evidence we diligently presented, that our credit card statements show Emirates, not Expedia, charged us twice for my wife's ticket. Logically, it would make sense that Emirates should refund us for the ticket that we paid for TWICE. Kindly review this matter again and I'm sure you will agree with us that it would be Emirates' responsibility to credit us for the ticket. Please understand that the longer this matter remains unresolved, the more stressful this is for us emotionally and financially. If we are forced to spend more time pursuing this matter, we will have to send you an invoice for that time. So please reverse the $1629.70 charged to our Chase MasterCard within three business days. Should you find this matter unagreeable, I'm afraid we'll be forced to take additional measures to dispute this charge. And we really would prefer not to. Kind regards, -SoulSnax

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Dear SoulSnax,

We had thoroughly checked all the documents that were provided to us. Expedia is our processing agent and they are authorised to charge and refund the tickets on behalf of Emirates. The ticket number on the itenary and on your credit card statement for Mrs. SoulSnax (176 7063673493) is invalid. Hence we ask you to contact Expedia and have them process a FULL refund for Mrs. SoulSnax's ticket.

Unfortunately we cannot refund a "travel agent" issued ticket. This must be resolved by Expedia and can contact us, if further information is required.

Sincerely,

Nouman Ali

Fares and Refunds

Emirates - USA ---------- Mr. Ali: Since Emirates has authorized Expedia to charge tickets on its behalf, it is the job of Emirates to resolve the matter of what ticket numbers are valid . Emirates' inability to resolve its own business processes is not our concern nor the concern of any valued customer. Since you have not considered the relevant facts of this matter, I have outlined them as follows:

1. Whether or not a particular ticket number is valid is not relevant to our refund request. Such minutiae are a fabrication of your byzantine work processes, not ours.
2. What is relevant to this matter is that we were charged TWICE for the fare of ONE passenger: Mrs. SoulSnax. First charge: on 7/26, as indicated on page 1 and page 4 of the .pdf attachment. Second charge: on 8/11, as indicated on page 7 of the .pdf attachment.
3. We are not asking you to refund the initial charges posted on 7/26. We are asking you to refund the $1629 payment that we were coerced into making on 8/11, as indicated on page 7 of the .pdf attachment.
4. If you look closely at the receipt on page 7 of the .pdf attachment, you will see that the payment took place on 8/11/07 at JFK International Airport, at 10:45am, just 35 minutes before our scheduled 11:20am departure. It is clear that we were coerced into making that payment. In the United States, we call that EXTORTION, an offense punishable by law.

Please refund the 8/11/2007 charge of $1629.70 no later than tomorrow, 10/26/2007, or we will have no choice but to invoice you for the time spent processing this refund request. So far, I have spent more than 90 minutes on this matter, time that could have been spent on more productive matters. At the rate of US$95 per hour, the invoice currently stands at $142.50. A reasonable person would see that the facts are as clear as they can possibly be. I trust that you are a reasonable person. Peace, SoulSnax ----------

Mr SoulSnax,

At least you can contact them and get complete ticket details for Passenger Mrs. SoulSnax. We are unable to assist you unless and until we get the correct ticket number.

Sincerely,

Nouman Ali ---------- Mr. Ali: I do not wish to participate in this kind of charade with you, since you are unable to consider the relevant facts. Please put me in contact with your supervisor immediately. Expedia did not coerce us into paying a second time for my wife's ticket. It was Emirates' agents who coerced us by threatening to refuse my wife's passage on the flight. I have already provided you with all the relevant information necessary to process this refund. If you wish for me to do your job by contacting Expedia, please let me know where to send the invoice for the time I have spent on this matter. -SoulSnax ----------

Dear John,

We need to have a look at the original ticket for Mrs. SoulSnax that was purchased thru Expedia. Unfortunately the number provided by you seems to be incorrect. We are requesting you to contact EXPEDIA , provide them with your itinerary number and obtain the ticket number for Mrs. SoulSnax. We are unable to refund the ticket purchased directly thru Emirates , as it has already been utilised. We are considering to resolve this issue and possibly authorise a FULL refund on the ticket purchase from Expedia.

Sincerely,

Nouman Ali ---------- Mr. Ali: It is your job to contact Expedia, since you authorized them to make charges on your behalf. If I contact Expedia, I will have to send you an invoice for the time spent on this matter. To whom should I send the invoice for $142.50? -SoulSnax

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Dear SoulSnax,

Expedia wont provide us with the complete details due to security purposes. Hence we ask you to call them and acquire the ticket information.

Nouman Ali. ---------- I just contacted Expedia, and they gave me the same ticket number that I have given to you over and over and over again:

• Ticket number for Mrs, SoulSnax : 1767063675493
• Itinerary number: 120609992939

You already have all the information you need to process the refund. I know this because I am quite familiar with how credit card systems work. Please end this charade now. If you are unwilling to fulfill this refund request, then put me in contact with your supervisor or anyone else who can accomplish what you cannot. I am well aware that this is not the first time that Emirates has had this kind of problem with its customers. Extortion is a crime. If Emirates is unable to abide by United States laws, it should stop doing business in this country. Please ring me at +1 212.555.1111 once the refund has been processed. You have until 12:00 noon tomorrow to process this refund before we take legal action through our attorneys. -SoulSnax ----------

Dear SoulSnax,

We need your complete credit card number that was used when purchasing tickets from Expedia. We will be conducting an extensive search. Secondly, we dont think we should be blamed for an inconvenience that was caused by Expedia. We will take all matters to Expedia and make sure your refund gets processed in an expedited way.

Sincerely,

Nouman Ali ---------- Mr. Ali: The 12:00 deadline has passed, and I have not received any notification that our refund has been processed. You should put me in contact with your supervisor immediately. I will not tolerate any more of your fabricated excuses or delay tactics. You already know that we were unlawfully charged by Emirates, and you already have all the information you need to process the refund that is due immediately. By failing to process our refund request in a timely manner, you have been complicit in an act of extortion, which is a form of theft. You, Nouman Ali, are guilty of sariqah, السرقة. For this, we have hired an attorney who has assured us that justice will be served. Luckily for you, this offense was committed within the United States, so Hudud punishments will not be meted out. This inconvenience was caused by Emirates' failure to conduct business effectively with its partners. Whether or not you wish to conduct an investigation with Expedia is up to you and your cohorts, but it should not interfere with the immediate refund of the unlawful charge to our account. For security purposes, I do not disclose credit card information via email. If you need such sensitive information to conduct your "investigation," you can ring me at +1 212.555.1111.

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What protesters are NOT saying about Teri Hatcher's line in Desperate Housewives

There is indeed a huge uproar among Filipinos regarding a line delivered by Teri Hatcher's character, Susan, on the September 30 episode of Desperate Housewives: "Okay, before we go any further, can I check those diplomas? Coz I would just like to make sure they are not from some med school in the Philippines." Posts on several blogs have expressed sentiments along the lines of, "It's just a character on a show full of bitches. Get over it. Don't be so sensitive, Everyone gets denigrated on that show."

True, those lines were delivered by a rather shallow character on a show full of whiny "bitches." True, everyone on the show gets denigrated. But the problem lies not in Filipinos' lack of humor, nor in a lack of perspective. The problem lies in the fact that her line of dialogue was delivered on a show and in a multi-billion dollar global industry in which positive portrayals of diversity are virtually nonexistent.

When such diversity is nonexistent, and when the only mention of Filipinos occurs in such a negative manner, it negatively shapes the perception that people have of Filipinos. This is especially true among those whose perceptions of others are shaped by the media. And in this day and age, that's primarily how people's perceptions of others are shaped - by the media. Like it or not, that is an undeniable fact.

While Italian mobsters and Irish alcoholics may appear on television from time to time, we won't see much protest from the Irish or Italians, simply because Irish and Italian actors are regularly cast in enough positive portrayals, and in many non-ethnically specific roles. They also have the benefit of their sheer numbers in this country. Not so with Filipino or Asian actors.

When we see more positive portrayals of Filipinos and Filipino-Americans on television and in cinema, lines like the one delivered by Teri Hatcher's character will seem trivial. A line like that would be inconsequential because people will have seen enough positive portrayals of Filipinos to know that Philippine medical graduates are indeed competent. But because today's television and cinema lack such positive portrayals of Filipinos, those viewers with limited contact with Filipinos or Filipino physicians are likely to draw some inaccurate conclusions about Filipinos physicians and the medical schools from which they graduated.

Unless these points are made clear, the environment in which such programming is produced is unlikely to improve.