The Labrador Retriever and the Golden Retriever are two of the most loved dog breeds. They’re also a common breed, and breeds you can truly call man’s best friend. The two are quite similar in some ways that many people don’t know which one to choose is asked what dog breed is the best.

The Labrador Retriever

AKA: Black Labrador Retriever, Yellow Labrador Retriever, Chocolate Labrador Retriever, Silver Labrador Retriever, Lab

Color: Black, yellow, or chocolate colored. All colors are solids.

Height: Males 22.5 - 24.5 inches; Females 21.5 - 23.5.

Weight: Males 60 - 75 lbs; Females 55 - 70 lbs

The Labrador Retriever is a quick learner and is a very responsive breed. It is playful, energetic, and very friendly. It can get along with other dogs and household pets. There are many Labrador Retrievers that are hailed as heroes because of their intelligence and alert services for their human owners.

You might want to read about the following Labrador Retrievers who did their breed an honor:

• Endal
• Jake
• Lucky and Flo

The Golden Retriever

AKA: Golden, Yellow Retriever, Goldie

Breed Group: Sporting, Gundog

Weight: males 60-80 lbs (27-36 kg), females 55-70 lbs (25-32 kg)

Height: males 22-24 inches (56-61 cm), females 20-22 inches (51-56 cm)

Color: The Golden Retriever has a coat that ranges from cream to a golden color.

The Golden Retriever is another heavy favorite among dog lovers. It is a well-balanced dog and is friendly and intelligent too. It gets along very well with other dogs and pets. It is also easy to train and makes a very good watchdog.

It is obvious how much Golden Retrievers are loved by the amount of stardom they have. The Golden Retriever is most likely the most used dog breed when it comes to TV shows and commercial ads, such as the following:

• Air Bud
• Alex
• Trixie Koontz

The Verdict: Well, in my list of my own favorite dog breeds, there is neither the Golden Retriever nor the Labrador. There are plenty of dog breeds to choose from and I usually opt for more distinctive breeds. Neverthless, I do recognize the lovable characteristics of the two and I would never complain of having either as a pet. But to choose one among them… well… I can’t choose. I’m a dog lover and I don’t really care what kind of dog it is.

Now this is a battle between pet lovers — specifically between the dog lovers and the cat lovers. Both the cat and the dog make cute pets, but each has its unique behavior that puts it above the other. Each also has some traits that make the other look better. It would all boil down to what the owner would prefer to live with.

Now I could enumerate what I found all over the net on what’s hot and what’s not in having a cat or a dog. But I think I’ll give credit to the bloggers and posters who took pains in defending their canine or feline friend.

The Feline Purrrrrssss….

Cats or Dogs: Which Are the Better Pets?

I Hate Dogs.. And Their Owners Too.

“Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as gods. Cats have never forgotten this.” - Anonymous

“Cats are smarter than dogs. You can’t get eight cats to pull a sled through snow.” - Jeff Valdez

“In a cat’s eye, all things belong to cats.” - English proverb

“As every cat owner knows, nobody owns a cat.” - Ellen Perry Berkeley

“One cat just leads to another.” - Ernest Hemingway

“Cats are rather delicate creatures and they are subject to a good many ailments, but I never heard of one who suffered from insomnia.” - Joseph Wood Krutch

“People that hate cats, will come back as mice in their next life.” - Faith Resnick

“There are many intelligent species in the universe. They are all owned by cats.” - Anonymous

“I have studied many philosophers and many cats. The wisdom of cats is infinitely superior.” - Hippolyte Taine

“There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats.” - Albert Schweitzer

“The cat has too much spirit to have no heart.” - Ernest Menaul

“Time spent with cats is never wasted.” - Colette

“Some people say that cats are sneaky, evil, and cruel. True, and they have many other fine qualities as well.” - Missy Dizick

“You will always be lucky if you know how to make friends with strange cats.” - Colonial American proverb

“Cats seem to go on the principle that it never does any harm to ask for what you want.” - Joseph Wood Krutch

“Cats aren’t clean, they’re just covered with cat spit.” - John S. Nichols

“Do not meddle in the affairs of cats, for they are subtle and will pee on your computer.” - Bruce Graham

Man’s Best Friend

Ubersite: Dog’s vs Cats

Funny.net: Dogs vs Cats

Things I Learned From My Dog

“You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you this look that says, “My God, you’re right! I never would’ve thought of that!” - Dave Barry

“There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face.” - Ben Williams

“The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too.” - Samuel Butler

“Man is a dog’s idea of what God should be.” - Holbrook Jackson

“The dog is the only animal that has seen his god.” - Author Unknown

“Dogs’ lives are too short. Their only fault, really.” - Agnes Sligh Turnbull

“We long for an affection altogether ignorant of our faults. Heaven has accorded this to us in the uncritical canine attachment.” - George Eliot

“I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me they are the role model for being alive.” - Gilda Radner

“I think we are drawn to dogs because they are the uninhibited creatures we might be if we weren’t certain we knew better. They fight for honor at the first challenge, make love with no moral restraint, and they do not for all their marvelous instincts appear to know about death. Being such wonderfully uncomplicated beings, they need us to do their worrying.” - George Bird Evans

“Our dogs will love and admire the meanest of us, and feed our colossal vanity with their uncritical homage.” - Agnes Repplier

“One reason a dog can be such a comfort when you’re feeling blue is that he doesn’t try to find out why.” - Author Unknown

Scratch a dog and you’ll find a permanent job.” - Franklin P. Jones

“I talk to him when I’m lonesome like; and I’m sure he understands. When he looks at me so attentively, and gently licks my hands; then he rubs his nose on my tailored clothes, but I never say naught thereat. For the good Lord knows I can buy more clothes, but never a friend like that.” - W. Dayton Wedgefarth

“When a dog barks at the moon, then it is religion; but when he barks at strangers, it is patriotism!” - David Starr Jordan

The Verdict: Well, I’m biased. I like dogs more than I like cats. But I do recognize the intelligence of cats. But I prefer the company of dogs because they are more interactive than the cats. I mean if I’m going to have a pet, I might as well go with those who I can play with and cuddle with, right?

Let us go to the American Idol fever! It’s season 7, and we’re onto the top 3 now, as Jason Castro was understandably booted out last week. — And I’m droning like one of the Hollywood reporters…

Let’s cut to the chase. I don’t mean to disregard Syesha Mercado, but the main highlight of today’s comparison post will be between the two Davids of American Idol. Looking over comments on the Web, it seems that these two are the heavy favorites. Syesha has a powerful voice and has given great performances but she doesn’t have the charm that the two Davids do.

Young and Charming: David Archuleta

The youngest aspirant on the competition, David Archuleta has captured everyone’s attention when he took up that microphone and continued to give outstanding performances on the show. He has never been in the bottom three. With his voice and charm, everyone was sure that he would be one of the top finalists in the competition.

One of the early favorites, and still one of the strongest players in American Idol, David A is no stranger to singing and competing. He was the winner of the Juniors Singers on Star Search when he was twelve, and before that also joined other singing competitions.

David A has a big chance at the American Idol, and that’s due to his fans, who are mostly female and teenage squealing girls. David A has the looks and the voice and these has obviously appealed to the female teenagers. This is not a weak point in David A’s rise in the competition. Rather it is a very big help, and may even be his winning ticket, to winning the title. Nobody can deny the power of the female teens when it comes to voting in celebrity shows like American Idol.

David A is not that cute for the more mature viewers, though. I’ve read comments in social sites citing that while he is excused for being too smiley and too chummy, it can be irritating at times. He also has this surprised look everytime he is being praised by the judges and people are wondering if it is still genuine considering his experience in singing competitions and the numerous times he has been praised throughout the season.

Rocker Charm: David Cook

David Cook is another season 7 finalist who has never been on the bottom three. Age difference aside, he’s also got the same plus points that David A has: the voice, the looks, and the charm. But while David A is into soul music, David C would prefer his guitar and rock ‘n roll. This taste in music is what has appealed to David C’s fans, along with his flexible voice and great performances.

David C also has a professional background in music. He was the lead singer and guitarist of a band named Axium, which has disbanded last 2006. He still pursued a career in music after the breakup, and eventually released his independent album, Analog Heart.

On American Idol, David C gave strong performances and is known to take risks in the musical arrangements in the songs he sang. He has received praises and has also been criticized at times. But strong performances like his “Billie Jean,” “Always Be My Baby,” and “Music of the Night” has made him one of the favorites for the American Idol title.

The competition is nearing the end. If the two Davids are really going to be the top 2 finalists — a big if there because Syesha still might blow us away — which of them are you betting on winning?

FHM has announced the top 100 sexiest women in the world for this year! And who do you think takes the top spot, voted by about 9 million voters worldwide?

1. Megan Fox grabs the top spot after only two years in the annual poll. She debuted on FHM’s list on 2006, ranked at 68. In 2007, she only advanced 3 spots to number 65. Quite a big difference this year! I guess that lead female role in Transformers really did it… plus that hot body and smoky eyes, of course. No man can deny it and no woman can contest it: she has the right to be number one on the list!

2. Even while preggy, Jessica Alba still has sex appeal. Even with the bump, people will still remember that innocent face, the honeyed skin, and that softly curved Latino body.

3. Modelling small lingerie definitely gave Keeley Hazell the thumbs-up to become number 3 on the list.

4. Elisha Cuthbert hasn’t had that many projects and movies recently. But she’s still popular. Taking the number 4 spot in this list is proof of that.

5. Innocence and sexiness in one superhuman heroine: Hayden Panettiere. No one would disagree.

6. Scarlett Johannson is an expected entry. She’s one of those celebrities that always looks so refreshing and always in full bloom without trying so hard.

7. Cheryl Cole is no stranger to top sexiest lists. She was FHM’s 2006 Sexiest Footballer’s Wife, even before she married Ashley Cole.

8. Breaking out from her teen idol Lizzie role, Hillary Duff branches out to a mature and sexy image. She’s still keeping busy with music and movies.

9. Who doesn’t know Angelina Jolie? With a high profile life with partner Brad Pitt and their increasing brood, and as a Goodwill Ambassador, she’s everywhere on the tabloids.

10. Keira Knightley gives seductive performances while widely known to have a flat chest, but that certainly didn’t erase her from the list!

Some readers may be confused because this list is a little different from the lists given by other reports. There are news stories that cite Jessica Biel and Kate Beckinsale among the top 10, with no top 10 spots for Angelina Jolie, Keira Knightley, Cheryl Cole, and Hayden Panettiere. I’m sticking by my list, though. I got this top 10 directly from FHM.com.

I hope my four-month hiatus hasn’t made my vocabulary dull. It certainly hasn’t stopped my habit of comparing people and stuff. Why else would I be back here on my blog?

In light of an upcoming film that I’m very excited to watch, I decided to make a comparison between two of my favorite celebrity martial artists: Jet Li and Jackie Chan… J and J indeed! Talk about starting the year’s post with action.

Fearless Hero: Jet Li

Jet Li is renowned for being a Wushu champion athlete and a hit action movie star in both China and Hollywood. He has been a practitioner of the Wushu martial arts since childhood, only retiring from making movies with it in the movie Fearless. He rose to fame in China with Shaolin Temple and Once Upon A Time In China series, and has a star in the Hong Kong Avenue of Stars. He proceeded to be an international film star with Hollywood films like Lethal Weapon 4, Romeo Must Die, and War.

One can see that Jet Li is a humble and principled international artist. He is a practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism, and he contributes to the Red Cross Society of China. He also formed the One Foundation after his near-death experience in Maldives during the 2004 tsunami.

Who Am I? Jackie Chan

Even at more than 50, Jackie Chan is still restless and active in the entertainment industry, both in the international scene and in China. He seems to be all around the industry — actor, action choreographer, film director, producer, screenwriter, stunt performer, and even a singer.

Jackie Chan is known for his acrobatic style of martial arts and comedic scenes. He has a creative and innovative mind in building action choreography in the films. He has a star in both the Hong Kong Avenue of Stars and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. This guy also holds the record for “Most Stunts By a Living Actor.” He really deserves this considering the number of bones he has broken in his body. He even has a hole in his skull after a failed stunt attempt in Armour of God.

Jackie Chan is moving everywhere he can. He participates in public service commercials and announcements, contributes and campaigns for global causes, and is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. He has also gone into business, opening up Jackie’s Kitchen restaurants in places around the world.

My Verdict: I love them both! It is apparent that both should and are honored because of their achievements and contributions. But to have to pick one, I must say that if I have a Jet Li film and a Jackie Chan film in front of me, no doubt I would opt to watch Jackie Chan’s first. I have nothing against Jet Li or his movies. Jackie Chan just has humor added in his movies, and I am a fan of the action-comedy genre. I also like Jackie Chan’s action scenes better because of the craftiness and creative usage of the fight scene environment.

As a bonus, here’s the trailer for their upcoming movie The Forbidden Kingdom that I’ll be sure to watch! Man, that Michael Angarano (Sky High) is one lucky guy to be able to work with both of them in one film.

Note to the all readers: If you guys would like to leave comments on my post, I would appreciate it if you would put them in English. I’ve received a couple of comments that are of a different language these past months. Please note that while I encourage your opinions, I still wish for courtesy and respect on my blog. I want it to be clean of spammy comments and indecent language. In order to know which comments to approve or not, I need to understand them first. Though I have always yearned to be a master of all languages, English is unfortunately the only language I can fully understand (aside from my native tongue, of course) Thanks ya lots!

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Hana Yori Dango (Boys Over Flowers)

The Japanese manga series Hana Yori Dango, created by Yoko Kamio, is a popular story of a poor girl who comes across the path of her school’s ruling elite group of four boys that goes by the name of F4. This is a shoujo romance manga series that has been acknowledged as the best-selling shoujo manga in Japan of all time!

The story starts with Tsukushi Makino, a working-class girl, going to school in a rich and elite school wherein the rich and famous attend. In this school, there is a group called F4, which is comprised of the four richest and most powerful guys in their area. The F4, however, can be abusive of their power over the school. Even the school principal and the staff cannot object to their wishes. The families of the F4, after all, are among the owners of the school.

Tsukasa Domyouji is the leader of F4. His childhood lonely and extraordinary, he grew up angry and dominating. One small word or action that pisses him off will make the person responsible and sorry. If someone stands up to them, the consequence is constant bullying and never-ending suffering. Everyone was afraid to be the subject of contempt of the F4, most of all that of Tsukasa Domyouji.

Until Tsukushi Makino, the leading lady of the story, stood up to them.

From there, the story begins to revolve around their love story, which has undeniably captured the hearts and attention of many audiences across Asia.

But the point of this post is not the story! The point of this post is to compare which of the two F4’s is better: Japan’s or Taiwan’s. After its hearty response among the readers of the manga series, Hana Yori Dango was made into a live action series.

Taiwan’s Meteor Garden

Taiwan went first in making the TV series. They made some changes over the story: The setting was made in a university instead of that in high school, and the Japanese names and title was changed to Taiwanese. Hana Yori Dango was changed into Meteor Garden.

Jerry Yan plays the equivalent of Domyouji Tsukasa, who was renamed Dao Ming Si in the Taiwanese version. I have to say, he did a great job looking like the towering bully that the character is.

Vic Zhou plays Tsukasa’s best friend and his rival in love, Hanazawa Rui, renamed as Hua Ze Lei. Singer and dancer Vanness Wu (who did the rap in Beyonce’s Asian version of Crazy In Love) plays the guy who likes to play around with older women, Mimasaka Akira, renamed as Mei Zuo. Lastly, Nishikado Soujirou, renamed as Ximen, is played by Ken Chu. Barbie Hsu plays the leading lady, Tsukushi Makino, renamed as Xian Cai.

Japan’s Hana Yori Dango

Japan only made their live version of the manga series after Meteor Garden received enormous popularity across Asia. They stuck to the original title and names (it’s originally in Japanese, after all). They also used the same high school setting as in the manga series.

Jun Matsumoto (middle, right) plays Tsukasa Domyouji. Shun Oguri (top left) plays the silent Hanazawa Rui. Tsuyoshi Abe plays the womanizing Mimasaka Akira (top right) and Matsuda Shota plays Nishikado Soujirou (bottom). Tsukushi Makino is played by Mao Inoue.

My Verdict: Well, each one has their strengths and weaknesses. But overall I choose Japan’s F4. While their look as a group isn’t as overpowering and bully-like as that of the Taiwanese F4 (Jun Matsumoto is the shortest among the four and he’s the leader?!), their acting skills make up for it. Jun Matsumoto is a well-established actor, and so is Shun Oguri, whereas the Taiwanese F4 are only at the beginning of their acting careers when they made the series. The female lead also added some spice (of course!). Barbie Xu, however okay her performance was, could not add up to Mao Inoue’s display of willpower and determination as is required of the character.

Going over to the world of professional tennis, we can’t help but compare the two players currently on top. Swiss Roger Federer has been the world’s number one since 2004 and has earned the honor of being one of the most elite of the world’s greatest male tennis players. Spaniard Rafael Nadal has been ranked number 2 since 2005, and is best known for his consecutive wins and overwhelming power on clay.

Roger Federer

Where do we start? Roger Federer has been number one since 2004. It is pretty much obvious that he’s won a lot of championships and has a great collection of golden cups and silver platters.

Federer has won 12 Grand Slam singles titles (second-most of any male player, tied with Roy Emerson), three Tennis Masters Cup titles, and 14 ATP Masters Series titles. He has won three Grand Slam singles titles in a calendar year a record three times (in 2004, 2006 and 2007). He holds the male record of ten consecutive Grand Slam singles final appearances and the only male player to have played in the finals of all four Grand Slam tournaments for two consecutive years. By winning Wimbledon in 2007, Federer also tied Björn Borg’s open era record of five consecutive Wimbledon championships. He is the only player ever to have won both Wimbledon and U.S. Open for four consecutive years.

Rafael Nadal

Clay court king and world’s number two Nadal has a rough style of playing, different from Federer’s soft approach, that has given him a distinct advantage when playing.

He is a three-time Grand Slam champion, having won three consecutive French Open singles titles (2005-07), and has twice been a runner-up at Wimbledon (2006-07). Nadal is undefeated in his career at the French Open, having won all 21 matches he has played en route to his three championships. He also holds the longest winning streak among male players on a single surface in the open era. From April 2005 to May 2007, he won a record 81 consecutive clay court matches, before being defeated by World Number One, Roger Federer, in the 2007 Hamburg Masters final.

It’s a great honor indeed to be chosen as the best player in the world by your own colleagues. For the FIFPro World Player, it is a sign that he has gained the respect and admiration of the world that he himself has great respect for and has given so much to. The FIFPro is one of the most valued prizes in football, given the great number of voters and the fact that the players themselves vote for one of their own.

And among the chosen 55 players (which was comprised of 5 goalkeepers, 20 defenders, 15 midfielders, and 15 strikers), Kaka was voted as FIFPro World Player 2007!

Another Brazilian star takes the award from Ronaldhino, the FIFPro World Player of 2005 and 2006! Ricardo Kaka has been a favorite to win the award after his instrumental role in the Champions League. He was also the top scorer in the competition.

The FIFPro members also voted on their team of the year. And here’s FIFPro World XI:

The team obviously has some of the very best players:

Goalkeeper:
Gianluigi Buffon (Italy/Juventus)

Defenders:
Alessandro Nesta (Italy/AC Milan)
Fabio Cannavaro (Italy/Real Madrid)
John Terry (England/Chelsea)
Carles Puyol (Spain/Barcelona)

Midfielders:
Steven Gerrard (England/Liverpool)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Manchester United)
Ricardo Kaka (Brazil/AC Milan)

Forwards:
Lionel Messi (Argentina/Barcelona)
Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast/Chelsea)
Ronaldhino (Brazil/Barcelona)

Surely, this team can be revered as one of the best teams made ever!

You can read more of FIFPro World XI at their website.

The song Beautiful Girls has been a favorite among thousands of people when it aired on the waves. But whose version would you prefer? Sean Kingston’s version as the guy who’s bound to be suicidal, or JoJo’s reply as the fly girl who can get another guy on the morrow?

You be the judge!

Sean Kingston’s Beautiful Girls: Gotta go to Youtube.com!

JoJo’s reply:

* JoJo didn’t release a music video for her version. This video is a fanmade video from Youtube.com.

What do YOU think?

Who’s it gonna be?

Jennifer Aniston has topped Forbes.com’s list of top-selling famous faces that appeared on magazince covers all throughout a six-month period which ended on June 30. At 38 years old, she’s still as glamorous and as sweet as ever. She has appeared on every major showbiz magazine cover except in Touch Weekly, and her face has sold more than 5 million copies.

Second place goes to her ex-husband and Hollywood hunk Brad Pitt, who is also the only male celebrity in the top ten.

Following the top two are Scarlett Johansson, Angelina Jolie, Reese Witherspoon, Katie Holmes, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson, Valerie Bertinelli and Kelly Ripa.

* No malice on the pictures, people. The love triangle comes to mind but it just so happens that Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt, and Angelina Jolie are among the top 4. Scarlet Johannsen’s picture would have been included, but it would have destroyed the layout of the post. Peace.