Caricature

Michelle Dee dedicates her dress to the living legend of Philippine tattoo art, the 106-year-old Apo Whang-Od. Photo Credits to the owner

 

Spot The Difference: Q and A Now and Then

The Miss Universe host has verbally made this declaration.

"The Q and A round determines who will continue to the Final 3. None of the candidates know the questions in advance and have only one chance to answer. The selection committee takes this round seriously because Miss Universe will use her voice as a global ambassador ... so the job requires strong communication skills." Oh really?

These are the questions in the Q and A segment of Miss Universe 2023.

1. Question to Australia - How would you use the Miss Universe platform to promote gender equality?

2. Question to Puerto Rico - If you win tonight what would you bring to the Miss Universe brand?

3. Question to Nicaragua - What qualities and values guide you as a leader and role model for others.

4. Question to Thailand - If you could speak to a room full of students about online bullying what would you say?

5. Question to Colombia - If this is your last day on earth how would you live it?

6, If you could live in one year in another woman's shoes who would you choose and why?

Now compare it with the question in the Q and A segment of Miss Universe in the previous years

1. Many people think climate change is a hoax ... what would you do to convince them otherwise.

2. Should tweets and social media comments from a person in their teenage years be held against them years later?

3. According to Global Citizen ... 95 % of the world's countries are led by a male head of state ... how would the world be different if more women were in charge?

4. Given the ever-changing Covid situation, what is your opinion about mandating a universal vaccine passport?

5.  Tell me the time you felt shame and how you turned that feeling into fuel?

6. Miss Universe made an inclusive change allowing mothers and married women to compete this year.  What's another change you want to make and why?

7. Should countries lockdown due to Covid 19 despite the strain on their economy ... or should they open their borders and risk a potential increase in infection rate.

8. In many countries women are still considered incapable of being world leaders ... convince these countries that they are wrong.

So did you spot the difference? All I can say is that in this year's Q and A ... the questions sound too easy and straight- forward. It is too simple and uncomplicated any beauty queen worth her salt can answer that with no sweat. 

The declaration uttered by the host in my intro that they are looking for a global ambassador ... so one of their requirement is for the winner to have strong communication skills. If that is so ... why then use softball questions to test what they are really made of?

The questions did not come from the judges ... they were prepared questions from the organization.  What is a softball question? In the US a softball question is utilized because it is easy to answer. It is not something intellectual ... just some question formulated intentionally for that group so they will not crack their heads groping for the answer.

The questions in the previous years were difficult and more aggressive ... questions that aim with the jugular, something that test, probe, and scrutinize how far will the candidate last till she drops.  The questions will really test what's inside the candidate's grey matter and examine their communication skills. It can be any question under the sun ... some deal with current events, politics, and some socio-economic issues affecting the world.

Michelle Marquez Dee

 

Some Observations in Miss Universe 2023

More Questions ... and more observations at Miss Universe 2023.

1. Pinoy Casting Coup In Miss Universe 2023 - Michelle Marquez-candidate, Catriona Gray -Host, Dr. Connie Mariano - judge, R Bonney Gabriel - previous winner, Jojo Bragais- sponsor -Official Miss U footwear, 

2. Two many first in Miss Universe 2023 - Guatemala and Colombia - two married candidates with children, Miss Nepal- first ever plus size candidate and placed in Top 20, Portugal and Netherlands - two trans candidates, Pakistan and Bahrain - two Muslim candidates who wore long gowns in a swimwear competition. A swimwear competition wearing gowns? Outrageous!

3. This is the first time Pakistan joined the Miss Universe family ... and placed.

4. This is also the first Miss Universe crown Nicaragua has won.

5. Will this be the start of plus-size queens sprouting like mushrooms on the Miss U stage after the success of Nepal? 

6. I am for inclusion ... but will trans and mothers with children come in grooves too? 

7. Will this all-around across-the-board inclusivity ek-ek destroy Miss Universe and its mission and vision in the long run? Will the original owners just watch Anne destroying what they have started?

8. Beautiful faces that were ignored - Dominican Republic Brazil, France, Lebanon, Mexico, and Bahrain.

9. El Tocuyo Award - a toss-up between Mexico and France

10. The Philippines won the Voice of Change Award. The Fans participation was nothing short of phenomenal.

11. Nicaragua deserved the title from the get-go.  The swimwear round in a two-piece is breathtaking. When she came out she was flipping like a butterfly the way she flapped her wings in her NatCos.

12.Joke ng isang kaibigan: Ang ibang Pilipino diyan tuwang-tuwa ... hindi dahil nanalo si Nicaragua kundi dahil natalo si Tonyang. Kahit sino ang manalo ... huwag lang ang taga Taytay. Hahaha.

13. I wonder how Nicaragua and Australia's swimwear look with Michelle Dee?

14. Michelle Dee's tattoo-inspired gown was a tribute to the oldest tattoo artist Apo Whang Od in the Philippines.

15. Philippines signature walk - the Snake Walk.

16. One fan borrowed Piolo Pascual's line in the movie Starting Over Again: With Michelle not included in Top 5 when she should be ... "we deserved an explanation and acceptable reason ..." Kidding aside an investigation is in order to deter critics to say there was a foul play.

17.  Catriona Gray (Miss Universe 2018) did not hide her exasperation as one of the hosts when Michelle was not allowed to show her communication skills in the Top 5.

18. Pia Wurtzbach (Miss Universe 2015) allegedly broke her TV set when she posted this on her Instagram with a caption: Our TV situation after watching Michelle Dee compete.  We were hoping to see her in Q and A.

19. Iris Mittenaere (Miss Universe 2016) also expressed her frustration when Michelle failed to advance. 

20. Pinoy Netizens are such an enterprising group for having taken screenshots of the Top 5 results posted by the Miss U organization El Salvador. It comes handy at pwede daw gawing resibo.

21. Was the closeness of Michelle Dee and Anntonia Porsild for reel or for real? They call each other Mommy and Daddy.

To sum it up ... Miss U needs to explain ... it is a serious matter and don't just dismiss this  ... that it was just a typographical error. Or that we are just human ... everybody makes mistakes. My goodness ... but you are in a business where you are not allowed to make mistakes. To think that you employed the best accounting firm there is ... and there are still mistakes?

Shockwaves Of The Day

Shock of the Day 1: The resignation of Paula Shugart.  May alitan ba sila ni Anne? Or she can't just stand the changes being enforced by the new owner. Is this the start of the fall of Miss U?

Shock of the Day 2: Anne Jakrajutatip the owner of Miss U files for bankruptcy. Emily Austin (a Miss U judge in 2022) said it was morally wrong.

Shock of the Day 3: Lu Sierra (model and former Miss Universe coach) is unstoppable for her unsolicited comments regarding the exclusion of Michelle. She becomes Michelle's rah-rah girl.

Shock of the Day 4: El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele was in the front seat. His presence was his effort to alter the image of his violence-torn nation.  Despite a clear term-limit appendage in El Salvador's constitution, he is running for reelection in February.

Spot The Difference 1

Spot the difference in some broadsheets is a type of puzzle (similar to a crossword puzzle) where readers are encouraged to find a specified number of minor differences between two almost identical pictures lying side by side and parallel to each other. The task is for the reader to find as many differences as possible.

This post serves as an instructional guide to readers to go to the next set of photos found below in the Miss Universe Instagram announcement of the TOP 5 as reported by Miss Universe El Salvador.

Spot The Difference 2

Reminders please follow instructions carefully. The post on the left is the original list of Top 5 finalists as reported by Miss Universe Organization El Salvador. The posts on the right are the changes made in the list ... in a matter of seconds. But enterprising and resourceful fans were able to screenshot the posts as souvenirs perhaps ... or was it for evidence/receipts. Now compare the two and spot the difference.

The changes became viral ... and even before the post-mortem review of the show ... paranoia and suspicions had already besmirched the otherwise successful show and ruined the coronation of Sheyniss Palacios - Miss Universe 2023  from Nicaragua.  The moral lesson of the story: Think and inspect ... before you click.

Now some fans want to hear a statement from the Miss Universe owner  Anne Jakkaphong Jakrajutatip and want some kind of investigation.

The nagging question is: was there a mistake just like the classic Steve Harvey's blunder in Pia Wurtzhbach's time? Or the question of Lu Sierra (supermodel, host, and pageant coach) resonates when she says: that the Philippines was robbed. 

One-on-One with Leila De Lima