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| 3.30.2009 | Monday
• PUERTO RICAN KINGS : New Puerto Rican male beauty kings were selected Saturday night at Club Tropicoro
in El San Juan Hotel & Casino. Three titles were distributed. Mister Puerto Rico Model is Heri Quiles, 20, of
Barranquitas (photo, center) His court includes first runner-up Luis Fernando Ramos, 20, of Canovanas and second runner-up
Jeffrey Pérez, 21, of Lares. The new Mister Puerto Rico Teenager is José Cortés, 16, of Toa Alta (photo, left). His
court includes first runner-up Mark Arroyo, 17, of Caguas and second runner-up Chemán Miranda, 17, of
Aguada. The new Mister Latin Model Puerto Rico is Lenny López, 21, of Loiza (photo, right).
CB's Héctor Joaquín attended and covered the pageant which is produced by
Rubén Díaz, president of Misters of Puerto Rico, Inc. Héctor Joaquín came up on stage to present the Mister
CB Model award to Heri Quiles, the Mister CB Teenager award to José Cortés, the Mister CB Internet
Model award to Rafael Rivera of Bayamón, and the Mister CB Internet Teenager award to Chemán Miranda.
A special Mister CB Superación award was presented to Alberto Varela, 21, of Cataño. It is not certain if the winners will compete in
international competitions. CB continues its mark as the only major cybernet portal
in the world that covers beauty pageants in Puerto Rico. With CB's coverage of Misters of Puerto Rico, CB received
more than 85,000 votes for the Mister CB Internet award.
• THE NEW MISS THAILAND is Chutima Durongdej, a 23-year-old graduate student who comes from London, England. She will
now represent her country in Miss Universe 2009 pageant. The first runner-up is Rujinun Pansrithum who will represent Thailand
in Miss Earth 2009. Three women were all placed as second runner-up - two of whom will go to Miss Intercontinental 2009 and
Miss Tourism International 2009 - Ratakorn Sathirabutr, Chonticha Suppaiboonlert and Ketmolee Rojjanapradit.
Thanks to Cho-Kee for this info.
• THE NEW MISS NORWAY is Sara Skjoldnes, a 17-year-old blonde from the city of Skien. She will go to Miss World 2009.
The new Miss Norway Universe is Eli Landa,, a 24-year-old brunette from Stavanger. Both women were crowned
Saturday night at the Thon Hotel Arena in Lillestrom. You can watch the coronation here (notice how abrasive
the reporter is!)
• THE NEW MISS COSTA RICA is Jéssica Umaña, 21, who was crowned Friday in San José's Auditorio Nacional del Museo de los Niños.
The first runner-up is Nancy Montero, 24 and the second runner-up is Natalia Álvarez, 20. Nine young women competed in
this year's pageant. (Al Dia, San José, 3/28/2009)
• RECYCLED BEAUTIES : At leasrt thirty former and current titleholders graced the runway of the Funkshion and Green Fashion Week that was held last
Wednesday at the Viceroy Hotel in Miami Beach. The models displayed creations by fashion designers from Latin America and the United
States. The creations - which included gowns, dresses, and swimwear - were made from organic materials, vegetable fiber, recycled soda cans, and recycled paper. The event was hosted by former Miss Universe Amelia Vega. Among the special
guests included Miss Earth Karla Henry and Nuestra Belleza Latina Melissa Marty.
• EMCEES FOR MISS USA 2009 : "Access Hollywood" co-host Billy Bush and TV actress Nadine Velazquez are to preside over the 2009 Miss USA Pageant, organizers said Friday.
The event is scheduled April 19 at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. The pageant is also to feature performances by
The Veronicas and Kevin Rudolf, said Paula M. Shugart, president of the Miss Universe Organization. (Official Wire, 3/28/2009)
• NOT HAPPY WITH HER : Rumour has it that Osmel Sousa is not happy with the current look of Venezuela's rep to Miss Universe 2009
Stefanía Fernández, so he ordered several wigs of various colors and styles from New York so he could experiment with
different looks with Stefanía. Actually, Osmel is not fond of Stefanía who is a natural brunette; if she looks better as a platinum blonde or
redhead, then she's ready for Miss Universe, says Osmel. Osmel wants to distract the public with Stefanía's long, glossy hair and not with
her body or catwalk. (El Aragueño, Maracay, Venezuela, 3/27/2009)
• NO TOP MODEL : For the first time since 1995, Venezuela will not be competing in Top of the World contest that will take place in
Berlin on April 4th. A "ghost" organization wanted to acquire the Venezuelan franchise from the event organizer Detlef Tursies (who
also runs the Miss Intercontinental pageant). Tursies gave the franchise to this organization without first researching
its background, assuming that it has always been the Miss Venezuela Organization (MVO) which is presided by Osmel Sousa.
However, when Tursies found out later that he was dealing with a fraudulent group and not MVO, he asked MVO to send him
Dayana Borges (Miss Dependencia Federales 2008). But since Osmel does not consider himself as "second choice," he
refused to send Borges to Tursies's Top Model contest. (Bellezavenezolana.net, 3/29/2009)
• YOU GO, GIRL! Miss America 2009 Katie Stam is currently a finalist for Time Magazine's annual 100 Most Influential People List.
The annual list asks the public to rate each candidate on their influence on the world. Those recognized fall in one of five categories:
Leaders & Revolutionaries, Builders & Titans, Artists & Entertainers, Scientists & Thinkers, and Heroes & Icons. Within each category,
the 20 most influential people are selected, for a grand total of 100 each year. Stam is the only beauty queen on the list which also
includes many other notable figures in the world today such as U.S. President Barack Obama, Pope Benedict XVI, CBS newscaster
Katie Couric, Oprah Winfrey, and Filipino prizefighter Manny Pacquiao. If you wish to vote for Stam, click here.
• WILL SHE BE DETHRONED? Russian tabloids Thursday queried the participation in the Miss World contest of the Russian candidate
after pictures of her in erotic poses came to light. The pictures of Miss Russia, Sofiya Rudeva, 19, were published on the Internet.
One report said they were taken when she was 14 or 15 and were originally published in a men's magazine. "Will Russia's leading beauty
be deprived of Miss World because of erotic photos?" asked one newspaper. Competition rules say that candidates for the Miss Russia
title should not appear in pornographic pictures or videos. (Yahoo News, 3/26/2009)
These photos of hers (such as the one above) were shot for the men's magazine "Perfect 10"
when Rudeva was fifteen years old, and nearly all of them border on trashy to soft-core porn. According to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the age of consent in
Russia is sixteen. So if these photos were taken when she was fifteen, this raises important questions such as - Did her parents approve or
disapprove of her posing nude? Why would the magazine allow the publication of naked pictures of a 15-year-old girl, unless the
publisher had thought that Rudeva was 16 or older? Why didn't the Miss Russia organization know about the pictures beforehand? Even if
Rudeva is not dethroned, will the Miss World Organization still allow her to compete?
• AN UNCERTAIN MR. WORLD : There are currently three major international pageants for men, two of which occurred last year:
Manhunt International held in Korea last June, and Mister International in Taiwan last November. A third one, Mr. World, was also supposed
to have taken place last year, but it never did. The current Mr. World, Juan García Postigo of Spain, was crowned in 2007.
According to a Wikipedia article, the next pageant will be held in December, but no one knows the details because MWO (Miss World
Organisation) - the producer of the pageant - has not announced anything tangible. The same article also states that the pageant will
now be held every two years, but MWO has neither denied nor confirmed this. Late last year, it was reported that the pageant
would take place in March 2009, but now we know that is false. Countries who had already selected their representatives as early
as summer 2007 have been kept waiting for confirmation; some candidates expressed disappointment because their participation has been
placed in limbo, and they have to move on with their lives.
Mr. World is the male spin-off of Miss World, which means essentially that the female version
takes precedence over the male version because the former - naturally - is far more lucrative and popular than the latter. This also
suggests that Mr. World cannot stand by itself financially and creatively from MWO - which begs the question whether or not Mr. World
is just as prestigious as its two rival male pageants.
• STILL JAILED : The United States is urging Iran to grant consular access to jailed Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi (a former
Miss South Dakota). A U.S. State Department spokesman, Gordon Duguid, told reporters on Wednesday that the U.S. is pushing for the access through Swiss diplomats who represent U.S. interests in Tehran.
Iranian authorities arrested Saberi in January, accusing her of working illegally in the country after her press credentials were revoked.
She is being held in Tehran's Evin prison. The journalist met with a lawyer in Tehran earlier this month. The spokesman says State
Department officials spoke with Saberi's father on Wednesday and that he and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are very concerned
about Saberi's well-being, The Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday it was alarmed by a news report in which Saberi was
quoted as saying she might remain in prison for "months or even years." (Payvand.com, 3/26/2009)
• NEXT UPDATE : Monday, April 6, 2009
PHOTO CREDITS: HJ Blog, Wire Images, Getty Images, Perfect 10
| 3.23.2009 | Monday
Then Isabel faces the camera and publicly rebukes Stella and BPCI in English: "Stella Marquez de Araneta and the Binibining Pilipinas
Charities, Inc. You can stop me from attending Binibining Pilipinas pageant at the Big Dome but you cannot stop the fact
that I was your (she grabs her old scepter) Binibining Pilipinas Universe 1982, and here's my sash (she holds it up). That
will not be taken away from me. That's all, thank you!" (she does a traditional beauty queen wave). She finishes the interview
by saying that she's treated better in gay pageants (LOL!): "It's better to be in Miss Gay Philippines. Not only I am
welcome, but I am also a judge! I better stick with the gays!" You can watch the entire interview on YouTube.
• SNUBBED : Isabel was not the only ex-beauty queen snubbed by Stella and BPCI. Precious Lara Quigaman, Miss International 2005, was
not invited either because according to a persistent rumor, BPCI is not happy that Precious and two other queens, Karen Loren
Agustin Ostrea (Bb. Pilipinas Universe 2002) and Denille Valmonte (Bb. Pilipinas International 2006) have banded together
to create a new pageant called Miss Turismo Pilipinas. BPCI thinks that new pageant was created to cause rivalry, which is not true,
according to Precious during an interview with SNN. Precious is also upset that she was excluded from the tribute made to former queens
during the Bb. Pilipinas 2009 show. Like Isabel, she did not receive an invitation or was given a complimentary ticket. She said that
she was going to buy a ticket, but realizing that she couldn't find anyone to come with her, she decided not to go and watched the
pageant at home.
Another queen snubbed was Maggie Wilson, Bb. Pilipinas World 2007. Maggie said that
it would have been rude of her to attend if she had not been invited. When asked if the reason for her not being invited was
caused by her sexy fashion spreadout in FHM Magazine, she replied no and that she heard that she had already been "banned"
way before the FHM spread appeared. She says, "There are other beauty queens banned from the Araneta and we really do not understand why.
For me, it's not really a big issue. My reign has ended. I did my job as a beauty queen and I've moved on." Sandra Seifert,
who was disqualified from Bb. Pilipinas 2009 pageant presumably because she had also posed for FHM Magazine, has also moved on.
She has just been accepted as an official candidate in the Miss Philippines Earth 2009 pageant. BPCI's tremendous loss is
Carousel Productions' tremendous gain!
The banning of former beauty queens to watch the Bb. Pilipinas pageant is petty, unprofessional,
and totally absurd. BPCI would like to have it that it's the producer of the "most prestigious" pageant in the country, but
that prestige has been tarnished years ago when internal politics took precedence over thorough selection of and preparation of winners.
• THE NEW MISS ISRAEL is Adi Rodnitzki, 19, whose official title is Israel's Queen of Beauty (photo, center). She was crowned in Haifa
on March 18th. Her court includes first runner-up (Israel's Maiden of Beauty, left) Yulia Liubianitzki, 20, second runner-up
(Israel's Queen of Grace, right) Noy Michaelov, 23, and third runner-up (Israel's Teen Queen) Adaya Zeidman, 22. It is not sure if Rodnitzki will
compete in Miss World or Miss Universe or both. Watch her coronation here.
• THE NEW MISS WORLD CANADA is Lena Ma, a 21-year-old university student from North York, Ontario who was crowned
Friday in Toronto's St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts. Her court includes first runner-up Nelly Hadi, second runner-up Sabeen Chaudhary,
third runner-up Jasmine Pham, and fourth runner-up Patricia Singh. Ma will compete in Miss World 2009 to be held
again in Johannesburg, South Africa.
• BUDGET BEAUTY : She may have a multi-million dollar salary but even Jennifer Hawkins, Miss Universe 2004, is modifying her
spending in the economic downturn. The stunning face of Myer said budgeting was an issue for everyone in the current climate.
"I think (budgeting) is a big thing for everyone," she said. "I speak to Donald Trump and he's a billionaire and that's one of his rules."
While she still had her eye on a designer handbag, the $1200 Givenchy slouch bag, she was also considering more affordable options.
"Even by just mixing the shoes up, it feels like a new outfit," she said. "Style it up with clothes you already have in your wardrobe
- that's one of the things I do." (News.com.au, 3/22/2009)
• BALD AND BEAUTIFUL : The latest look in the pageant business - a bald beauty queen. It required permission from both the Miss
America Organization and state pageant officials, but Miss Virginia 2008 Tara Wheeler will shave her head next month if she
generates enough money for pediatric cancer research. "If I raise $500,000, I am allowed to be a bald Miss Virginia," said Wheeler.
It's the first time, insofar as anyone can remember, that a current titleholder has gotten the go-ahead to shear those glossy locks
so prized on the runway. But what about the crown? Under control. Wheeler already has a wig sponsor so she can still pin on her
rhinestone tiara. The 24-year-old military brat/journalism major came up with the idea two months ago when she was invited to an
event for St. Baldrick's Foundation, a charity for kids' cancer research. The fundraising gimmick? Participants set donation
goals and, if they meet them, shave their heads. (The Washington Post, 3/19/2009)
• LATIN-FLAVORED PAGEANT : The lavish Barceló Punta Cana Resort in the Dominican Republic is set to host the 23rd Miss America
Latina Del Mundo Pageant from May 14 to 24, 2009. As a co-producer of the pageant for the past 10 consecutive years, Barceló
Hotels & Resorts has sponsored this annual event in a variety of its hotels throughout Latin America. The crowning of Miss America
Latina del Mundo 2009 will take place in the new and magnificent theatre of the Barceló Punta Cana Resort, where 34 candidates
from Latin America, Canada, USA, Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, the Netherlands and the Philippines will compete. "Barceló is
actively promoting this event through its global network so that each Latin beauty will be supported by the people of her home
country," said Claudio A. Zboznovits, vice president of sales and marketing in the US and Canada. "So everyone will have the
opportunity to not only represent their region but also share the many activities organized by the hotel especially for this
contest." (Caribbean Net News, 3/19/2009)
• MEET THE CONTESTANTS for this year's Miss Austria (World)
and Miss Universe Canada.
• MISTER USA BLOG : Ivan invades Australia!
• NEXT UPDATE : Monday, March 30, 2009.
PHOTO CREDITS: Maria Isabel Lopez's Friendster, Reuters
| 3.16.2009 | Monday
• THE NEW MISS ECUADOR is Sandra Vinces, an 18-year-old music major who was crowned Friday night in Manta, Ecuador. She will
now represent her country in Miss Universe 2009. Her court includes first runner-up Gabriela Ulloa who will go to Miss World, second runner-up Isabella Chiriboga, third runner-up
Diana Sánchez and fourth runner-up Yuliana Delgado. Last year, Vinces won the CN Models Search and
competed in Top Model of the World in China where she placed eighth. Twenty-one young women participated in
the national pageant whose winner will represent her country in the Miss Universe and Miss World competitions. Watch the coronation here.
(El Universo, Guayaquil, 3/14/2009)
• THE NEW MISS ESTONIA is 25-year-old Diana Arno who was crowned in Tallinn Friday night. There were only
three contestants. The first runner-up is Sille Liissi Eving and second runner-up is Julia Lindvall.
• THE NEW MISS BULGARIA is 24-year-old Antonia Petrova who was crowned in Sofia Sunday night.
• DENYING RUMOR : On Telemundo's program "Al Rojo Vivo" that was shown on March 10th, Miss Universe Dayana Mendoza
told reporter Jorge Bernal that she is not dating Stavros Niarchos, the young mogul who was Paris Hilton's
ex-boyfriend. Dayana stated, "I am still with my boyfriend who is Venezuelan. We've been together four years
and I never thought about breaking up with him." (El Aragueño, Maracay, 3/14/2009)
• DATE CHANGE : Initially, it was reported that the Miss Universe 2009 pageant would take place on August 30th. But
according to the latest communiqué from MUO which was sent to all national directors, it states that the event would be held a week earlier, on August 23rd, Sunday.
It also says that the contestants must be prepared to travel to the official venue (Nassau, Bahamas) in the beginning
of August - which suggests that the pageant has been curtailed to just three weeks instead of the usual four. Finally,
it also reminded the directors to pay the franchise fees no later than May 1st.
• HATS OFF : Geneviève de Fontenay is happy that she just won a lawsuit against a former Miss France Luce Auger.
Auger had sued the Hat Lady for calling her names ("salope, perverse et méchante") via a Swiss online magazine and for claiming that De Fontenay had
forced Auger and her fellow 1961 contestants to pose topless. How did De Fontenay win the lawsuit? Easy. The French judge
declared himself incompetent against a Swiss Internet website! Poor Auger; now she has to fight it with the Swiss courts! (Stars-Actu.com,
3/12/2009)
• COMPLAINTS FROM SPONSORS : The Puerto Rican franchise for Miss Universe is now owned by Desirée Lowry and
Luis Vigoureaux after it was taken away from Magali Febles who was unable to pay the franchise fee in
the last two years. Despite losing the franchise, Febles will still be in charge of preparing Mayra Matos,
Puerto Rico's rep to the Miss Universe 2009 pageant. Meanwhile, several local mayors are angry over the fact that
they did not receive the goods they had been promised after contributing money to support their respective candidates for
last year's national pageant. For example, the mayor of the municipality of San Lorenzo, José R. Román Abreu said that he had donated $1,500 to support
his town's representative in exchange for a publicity in the pageant programme book which was never published. Some of
the candidates will now have to speak with Febles and to demand that she reimburse them. Due to this inconsistency,
local support of candidates is diminishing rapidly. (Primera Hora, San Juan, 1/13/2009)
• ANGRY QUEENS : The winners of the Miss Tourism of the Millennium 2007 Pageant and state-owned Ghion hotel have now joined
the queue and chorus in the escalating row over past due payments and are also demanding to be paid for the
Millennium Pageant held in October 2007 under the direction of State Minister for Culture and Tourism
Mohamuda Ahmed Gass, who has left a long trail of unpaid debts in his wake since 2007 after extensively obtaining
the services on credit and misusing official instruments of the Ethiopian government, such as official letterheads and
his position as State Minister to issue official guarantees to obtain services on credit and promises to pay for the
event that was supposed to be a positive enhancement for Ethiopia’s poor international image.
Tewelde would deliberately go AWOL and arrived hours after he thought the girls had
left for the airport. In one instance Miss Argentina Gisselle Fuentes refused point-blank to leave Ethiopia until
she got her money in hard currency and even changed her flight, but 18 months later she is still owed US$450, Miss
Bahamas is owed over US$900, Miss Brazil over US$900, and the list goes on. Miss Venezuela Jennifer Schell (photo),
the winner, was never paid her token prize of just US$5000, nor was the runner up Miss Costa Rica
Silvana Sánchez Jiménez paid her prize of US$2000. Miss Congo Katissa Kouta, Miss South Africa
Palesa Makwa also did not get their US$1000 prizes from the Ethiopian Ministry of Culture & Tourism and
Mohamouda Gass who simply said “that can all be pending, we have no money.” (Ethiopian Life Foundation, 3/13/2009)
• KEBAYA BEAUTY : It has become something of a trend among Indonesian celebrities to wear a traditional kebaya on festive occasions,
but wearing one under water hasn't quite caught on. Nevertheless, that is what actress and model Nadine Chandrawinata hopes to do.
"I admire kebaya and I would like to be photographed wearing a kebaya under water," the former Miss Indonesia told Okezone.com on
Wednesday. "It will be so unique and interesting." Nadine said many women were reluctant to wear kebaya out of fear it would
make them look older than they actually are. But not this 24-year-old German-born beauty. "For me, it's different. I feel more confident when I wear the costume," she said.
"I feel pretty when I wear kebaya. It reflects an aura from inside." Nadine was Miss Indonesia 2005, and represented Indonesia in
the 2006 Miss Universe Pageant. Nadine said her underwater pictures wearing kebaya would be used as material for a book written
by actress Zara Zettira (Jakarta Post, 3/13/2009)
• IN SEARCH OF FORMER QUEENS : The Miss Belgium Committee is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year, and with
the help of the new Miss Belgium Zeynep Sever, it is calling for an intensive search of past titleholders as
well as future participants. Unfortunately, the committee does not have archives, thus it is relying strictly on
Belgians who may know the whereabouts of former queens (that is, if they are still alive) and to have them contact
the committee for any information. The first Miss Belgium pageant took place in 1929 and winner was Jenny Vanparays.
(RTL Info, 3/13/2009)
• NOT FOR MY DAUGHTER : In a recent interview, Miss Universe 1996 Alicia Machado stated that she would not want her
daughter Dinorah, now seven months old, to compete in a beauty pageant. She said, "I would support her in everything she does, but I wouldn't
wish her to enter pageants because my experience with them was bad." Alicia also commented that her pregnancy was not an accident.
She remarked, "Nobody at 30 years of age ever has an accident; it happens when you're 15 or 17, but not at my age." (La Voz,
Venezuela, 3/13/2009)
• MISTER USA UPDATE : Ivan's smile just became brighter.
• NEXT UPDATE : Monday, March 23, 2009.
PHOTO CREDITS: NY Daily News, Miss Ethiopia Blogspot, Univisión
| 3.9.2009 | Monday
• MABUHAY MAIDENS : The Binibining Pilipinas 2009 pageant was held at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Philippines
this past Saturday. Three lucky young women emerged as titleholders. In the photo above (from left to right) are
second runner-up Regina Hahn, 26; Melody Gersbach (Bb. Pilipinas International), a 23-year-old
restaurant manager; Bianca Manalo (Bb. Pilipinas Universe), a 22-year-old flight attendant; Marie-Ann Umali
(Bb. Pilipinas World), a 22-year-old tourism major who wishes to run her own restaurant some day; and first runner-up
Richelle Angalot, 23. The show was hosted by Iza Calzado and Paolo Bediones who is reportedly dating
one of the contestants Abegail Cruz. You can watch the coronation on YouTube.
In Facebook, a disgusted Seifert fan protested BPCI's hypocrisy and raised these questions:
"Why didn't they ask Sandra in the beginning for clarification? Still, anyone who's seen the photos will tell you they were
tastefully done and she wasn't even in the nude or anything sleazy like that, just doning swimsuits! Swimsuits! The Bb. Pilipinas
candidates were even made to wear swimsuits during numerous of their pre-pageant activities. Paraded around vulnerably in the
streets of Cubao wearing tiny two piece bikinis. Can you follow their reasoning? I can't. Something's really fishy here. And a
lot of politics, too." Well said! Not to mention that the current Miss Universe Dayana Mendoza has posed totally nude
for a jewelry company and yet she was able to keep her title.
• THE NEW MISS RUSSIA is Sofia Rudieva, 18, who was crowned Saturday in St. Petersburg. She will represent Russia in both
Miss Universe and Miss World 2009 pageants. The first runner-up is Svetlana Stepankovskaya and the second runner-up
is Ksenia Shipilova. Rudieva was crowned by the current Miss World, Russia's Ksenia Sukhinova. Miss Universe
Dayana Mendoza was a special guest.
• THE NEW MISS NICARAGUA is Indiana Sánchez, 21, a nursing student from Managua who was crowned during a show televised
live from the Ruben Dario National Theatre in Managua last Saturday. She will represent Nicaragua at the Miss Universe 2009
pageant in the Bahamas. Sánchez was also voted Miss Photogenic. The first runner-up is Slilma Ulloa and the second runner-up is Maritza Rivas. Sixteen
young women competed in this year's pageant. (El Nuevo Diario, Managua, 3/8/2009)
• MISS UNIVERSE 2009 IN THE BAHAMAS : During a press conference last Wednesday at the Atlantis Resort, Paula M. Shugart, President, Miss Universe
Organization, announced that the 58th Annual Miss Universe pageant will air live from Paradise Island, Bahamas. The glamorous
live event, featuring some of the world's most beautiful women, will take place at Atlantis, Paradise Island resort and air
live on NBC and Telemundo on Sunday, August 30th this summer.
"The people of The Bahamas are very proud and excited at the opportunity to host some of
the most beautiful people in the universe in some of the most beautiful islands in the universe," added Bahamas' Minister of
Tourism and Aviation Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace. "This feels like the perfect match. We look forward to showcasing the hospitality
of our people, the clarity of our waters, the vibrancy of our music, dance, food and spirit." (UPI, 3/4/2009)
Miss Universe Dayana Mendoza, and Miss USA Crystle Stewart were also present
at the conference. However, Mendoza appeared wearing the Mikimoto crown instead of the Vietnamese-made crown that was originally
bestowed on her. What happened to the original crown? Was it lost? Did it get stolen? Or it is because it's not as precious or
sophisticated as the Mikimoto crown? Also, absent during the press-con were Gaynell Rolle-Stubbs, the Bahamian franchise owner
of Miss Universe and Sacha Scott, Miss Bahamas Universe. It is rumoured that Rolle-Stubbs had not been invited because
the Atlantis Resort has filed several grievances against her.
The Bahamas has never placed in Miss Universe. The country, however, has received special awards:
Miss Congeniality in 1981 and 2001, Miss Photogenic in 1982.
• TRAGEDY - PART I : Allan Ooi, who was first runner-up in Mister Singapore 2001, was found dead below a busy bridge in
Melbourne, Australia on Tuesday. He had disappeared for months, including having gone AWOL (absent without official leave)
from the army since October last year. The SAF (Singapore Air Force) had tried unsuccessfully to contact him, according to
a spokesman. He was 28. A family friend, who declined to be named, said it was known that Ooi had been unhappy at work
'for a long time'. He had been serving his term with the SAF and left friends and family bewildered when he left without
a word. His death is suspected to have been a suicide. Melbourne police are still speaking to witnesses and are preparing a
report that will be sent to the Melbourne Coroner's Court. A spokesman for the Melbourne police said Ooi was seen getting
out of his car on the bridge before 4am on Tuesday. (The Straits Times, Singapore, 3/6/2009)
• TRAGEDY - PART II : Fabiola Celadón Faoro, who was a finalist in the Miss Venezuela 1993 representing the
department of Trujillo, died in a plane crash on March 1st in Boconó, Trujillo. She was 33. She was travelling on a private plane with five other people
who also perished. Fabiola came from a rich family; in 1993 Osmel Sousa, his assistants and his delegates
traveled to the Dominican Republic to film a special, but instead of traveling with the group, Fabiola flew in a private
jet. (El Aragueño, 3/5/2009).
• NUCLEAR BEAUTY : In this age of green power and greener pastures, improving the image of the nuclear power industry is
imperative. Consequently, Russia has come up with unique scheme -an online beauty pageant! A beauty contest has been launched
in Russia to find the new "Miss Nuclear Reactor 2009." In all, there are 200 contestants who are in some way connected to
the nuclear power business, reports The Sun. With the help of the pageant, organisers are trying to prove that women who
work within the industry have beauty as well as brains. Contestants complain that people assume they have been mutated in
some way by radiation. Organizers though say that this proves that more awareness of nuclear power needs to be raised in Russia.
(The Sun, UK, 3/6/2009)
• FORMER MISS AMERICA warns about toxic makeup. Watch the video here.
• NEXT UPDATE : Monday, March 16, 2009.
PHOTO CREDITS: Paul Palmero, Bb. Pilipinas, American Idol
| 3.2.2009 | Monday
Another suspect, John Laughlin of Belleplain, Cape May County, also was charged
with forgery as a result of the investigation. The North Wildwood Police Department and the Secret Service both
declined to comment, other than to say that the investigation was ongoing. No one answered at the door of Nowacky's
home yesterday afternoon, although a neighbor said the family had just returned. The owner of the condo declined to
comment yesterday. Officials in North Wildwood said Fuhrmeister was "one of the best" contestants ever to serve as
Miss North Wildwood. "Everybody loved her demeanor," said Scott Wahl, a city spokesman. "She was at every event."
After winning the crown in 2007, the former Wildwood High School honor student
planned to dedicate her reign to raising money for Huntingdon's disease, the Cape May Herald reported at the time.
Fuhrmeister's father, Wayne, was in the terminal stages of the disease, which affects the nervous system.
The article mentioned that Fuhrmeister was a volunteer at a local school and was employed at Bank of America.
"We were shocked," Peg Quattrone, wife of former North Wildwood events coordinator Joe Quattrone, told the Daily News.
"She is a very sweet girl." Authorities did not explain the relationship between Laughlin and the two North Wildwood women.
Nowacky and Laughlin were taken to the Cape May County Jail on $15,000 bail each. Fuhrmeister was released on her own
recognizance. North Wildwood police said Nowacky spent a night in the jail and then was released. (Philadelphia Daily News,
2/26/2009. Thanks to Monica Showalter for this info.)
The former pageant queen, who is training to be a nurse, started tanning for just eight
minutes a session but she wasn't happy with the results and thought she wasn't brown enough. "I started going once or twice a
week and I loved the way I looked," she admitted. "I thought I looked healthier and I thought other people would think so too.
But the more I did it, the more I needed it. I got addicted very quickly. Within two years I was going five or six times a
week for 30 minutes a time. I was so dark that I don't think I could have got any darker. I was officially a tanorexic."
She later went away to college where no-one was aware how often she was using sunbeds.
But on one visit her anxious mum insisted on checking a mole on her daughter's back.
"I'd had a mole on my back since I was about 11 and I really hadn't paid much attention to it," said Brittany. Her mum took the
photograph to show a dermatologist who urged her to bring her daughter in for treatment immediately. Now she is left with scars all
over her body and warns other young girls about the dangers of sunbeds and skin cancer. She said: "The mole removed on my back
left me with the biggest scar. It is seven inches long." (The Daily Telegraph, UK, 3/1/2009)
• THE NEW MISS SUOMI (FINLAND) is Essi Pöysti, 21, of Jyväskylä who was crowned Saturday in Helsinki. She will represent Finland
in Miss Universe 2009. The first runner-up was 19-year-old Elsi Suolanen of Helsinki. The second runner-up was 19-year-old
Linda Wikstedt of Helsinki, who was crowned Miss Finland World last year and represented her country in Miss World 2008
in Johannesburg, South Africa. Info courtesy of Michael Knittel.
• THE NEW MISS URUGUAY is Cintia Dottone, 20, who was crowned Saturday in Montevideo. Crowned as her vice-queen is
Karen Gutiérrez who was also chosen as Miss Internet. The first princess is Patricia Callero, the second princess is Nadia Teoduloz and the
third princess is Rocío Torres.
• NEW REGULATION : The People’s Committee of Khanh Hoa province on February 25 asked the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
to amend the regulations on the organization of beauty contests. According to this regulation, which was issued in late 2008 and
has already taken effect, there will only be one national pageant organized a year. Meanwhile, Khanh Hoa allowed three organizations
to organize three beauty contests in Nha Trang city in 2009, including the Miss Universe Vietnam of the Universe JS Company,
Miss World Vietnam of Vinpearl Tourism and Trade JS Company, and Miss Vietnam of RASS to choose Vietnamese representatives for
the Miss World pageant. The province, therefore, asked the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to change the regulations
towards permitting the organization of 2-3 national beauty contests within a year. Khanh Hoa also proposed the Ministry
separate pageants for girls (18-27 years old) and for married women. (VietNamNet/TP/TT. VietNamNet Bridge, 2/26/2009)
• BEAUTIES VISIT VIETNAM : Hoang Kieu, Chairman and General Director of the US-based RAAS group on February 26 said that
Miss World 2008 Ksenia Sukhinova, Miss World 2007 Zhang Zilin and Misses representing five continents will go to
Vietnam this June to do charity. They will join a music show named “Arms of Compassion,” which is jointly organized by RAAS and
the Vietnamese Ministry of Health in the Mekong Delta City of Can Tho on June 5, 2009; RAAS – Words of Love on June 7; and a
procession on June 9 on Tran Phu Road, under the Nha Trang Sea – Rendezvous Festival (June 5-12 in Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa Province).
RAAS is holding the copyright to organize the Miss World Vietnam to choose the Vietnamese
representative for the international Miss World pageant. RAAS has submitted its detailed plan for the Miss World Vietnam 2009
to the Vietnamese government. Owing to the new rules on organizing beauty contests in Vietnam, which stipulates that
only one national pageant will be held in Vietnam within a year, RAAS planed to organize the Miss World Vietnam 2009
in Las Vegas (USA) for all Vietnamese contestants in America and in London (UK) for Vietnamese in Europe.
The semi-final round for European contestants is scheduled on June 27 in London and on July 4 in Las Vegas.
After her first charity tour and leaving Vietnam on the first day of the lunar year 2009,
Miss World Ksenia Sukhinova continued her charity activities in the US. So far, she has raised more than $3 million for charity.
On February 17, Ksenia Sukhinova and Hoang Kieu paid a visit to the centre for homeless people in Los Angeles and
presented 10,000 food rations to homeless people. (VietNamNet/TN, VietNamNet Bridge, 2/27/2009)
• MISS UNDERSTOOD? Miss Croatia and a semifinalist in Miss World 2008 Josipa Kusic, made a comment at the highest rated show
in Croatia "Red Carpet" which would make a gay man scratch her eyes out. She stated, "Faggotry is taking a stride in this country if it's news
everytime a guy gets turned on by a girl" when asked what she thinks about rumors of Mister Croatia Dino Bubicic
having a thing for her and being gay at the same time. In Croatian she said: "Zar je pederluk u nas toliko uzeo maha da se pise o tome
kad se muskarac napali na zenu?" Peder/pedercina means "fag", and pederluk means "faggotry".
It looks like a case of horrible translation, or whoever translated her statement didn't know (or pretended
not to know) that there is a clinical term for gayness (homosexuality) and that "faggotry" - according to Uncyclopedia (yes, that's "Un-" and not
"En-") - "is the art or sport of training Homosexuals to hunt, prance, dance or interior decorate in a tasteful, yet exciting new oeuvre" (funny!)
which is well illustrated by Mister Croatia's "faggotish" style in the solo photos below:
Did you know that Dino was a convicted drug dealer before he became Mister Croatia 2008?
And Josipa's English is really not bad.
• TALIANA'S SECRET : Rumor has it that Miss Universe 2008 first runner-up from Colombia Taliana Vargas will be auditioning
to be a model for Victoria's Secret. Taliana's image has already appeared on several brands of clothing in her native country,
thanks to mogul Donald Trump who signed up Taliana as one of his models. If Taliana passes the audition, she'll soon be in
the same league of Victoria's Secret supermodels like Heidi Klum, Gisele Bundchen and Adriana Lima. (El Informador, Santa Marta,
Colombia, 2/27/2009)
• CATHERINE THE GREAT : Venezuelan model, actress and television hostess Catherine Fulop, 44, was crowned as the 50th Reina del Festival de Viña del
Mar 2009 in Chile last week, in conjunction with the annual music festival held at Viña del Mar, a coastal city in Valpariso province.
Fulop was chosen as the winner based on public vote. Fulop was a former Miss Venezuela 1986 contestant. She is married to Osvaldo Sabatini, brother
of world-class tennis player Gabriela Sabatini. She now lives and works in Argentina where she is considered as the most
popular woman. (El Mundo, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, 2/27/2009)
• MISTER USA Ivan Rusilko and yours truly are featured in Current TV's feature, "Mr. USA: Male Beauty Queen."
It was supposed to have been a full-length documentary, but according to freelance filmmaker Jean Nagy who
shot the video, Current TV has laid off several workers, although I do not understand why the video has been whittled
down to 3 1/2 minutes. The short short short version excluded Ivan's visit to Puerto Rico and his trip to Boston's
Salon Euphoria for his hairstyling. For whatever its worth, you can watch the clip here.
• NEXT UPDATE : Monday, March 9, 2009.
PHOTO CREDITS: The Philadelphia News, Tan Today, Getty Images, Community Live Journal
FEBRUARY 2009
• QUEEN ISABEL : The popular Philippine TV magazine SNN (Showbiz News Ngayon) interviewed Maria Isabel Lopez,
Bb. Pilipinas Universe 1982 (photo), who said that she had not been invited to the Bb. Pilipinas 2009 pageant that took
place at the Araneta Coliseum two weeks ago. Isabel explained that she would get an invitation and a complimentary
ticket from BPCI in the last four years that she had been coming, and she was surprised that she didn't get one this year.
She called BPCI only to be told that all tickets had been allotted and that she had to purchase her own. Luckily, one
of her former beauty queen friends (who was invited) gave her a ticket and she was able to get in. However, once
in the coliseum, drama ensued. Here's Lopez's side of the story in Filipino (my translation in English):
"When I got there, I sat in the area for past beauty queens. An usher approached me and asked me to show him my
ticket. He was followed by the head usher who appeared to be telling me to move, as if he wanted me to move way in
the back. But I protested, saying that this section is for past beauty queens. It's not true that the security guards
dragged me out. Myrna Borromeo (a former Binibini from the 1960s) came up to me and told me, 'Why are you sitting there?
You shouldn't be there. That seat is reserved for Aurora Pijuan (Miss International 1970).' And I replied, 'Oh, okay,
I'll leave when Aurora arrives.' And a few bits later, she said, "As for you, you have to wait to be invited!" That is
so rude. To think that she is the adviser of Stella Marquez de Araneta!"
• LIBERTY SOON? The lawyer of an American journalist detained in Iran a month ago says his client is in good
spirits and appears to be healthy. Abdolsamad Khorramshahi said he met his client, Roxana Saberi, (photo) Tuesday
for the second time in a week. Saberi was a former Miss North Dakota. Khorramshahi says Saberi has been informed of the charges against her, but he said
he could not comment further until he reads the indictment against her. Iranian officials have said she was engaged in
“illegal” activities because she continued working in Iran after the government revoked her press credentials.
However, The Washington Times quoted Saberi's father, Reza "who said from Fargo, N.D., on Sunday that she had
been held in Iran since Jan. 31, ostensibly for buying a bottle of wine. Buying alcohol is banned
under Iran's Islamic law." He also said that "her credentials as a correspondent had been revoked but said
she had stayed in Tehran to pursue a master's degree and was doing research for a book about Iranian society."
(The Daily News, North Dakota & Minnesota, 3/13/2009)
• GREEN FASHION : On Wednesday, March 25, the city of Miami Beach (Florida) will play host to the first Green Fashion
Miami show. The show will be the official kick-off event for Funkshion: Fashion Week Miami Beach. Top designers from
Latin America and the United States will be presenting a collection made of recycled, eco-friendly and sustainable materials.
The models will be contestants and title holders from pageants such as Miss Universe, Miss World, Miss Earth,
Miss Intercontinental and Miss Latina International. The current Miss Earth Karla Henry will be the special
guest. Former Miss Universe Amelia Vega (photo) will host the event. To see a partial list of beauty queen participants, click here.
The winning beauty queens were never paid or given any of their prizes, and
many are still even to this day still owed money for their air tickets to Ethiopia, they were told to buy their
tickets and promised by Gass that they would be fully reimbursed once they got to Ethiopia, but on arrival in
Ethiopia apparently Gass and the local partner Aklilu Telwelde of Ezana Entertainment deliberately delayed
paying them in hard currency until the very last minute, and instead would try to give them about 9000 birr
instead of US$950, just a few hours before they were due to leave Ethiopia, knowing fully well they could
not take Ethiopian currency out of the country. Several of the girls were thus forced to go to the local black market
to change their Ethiopian money into hard currency, a very dangerous practice for them until the main organizer
insisted that all the girls must be paid in hard currency and not exposed to danger by going to illegal black markets.
Several favorites were shut out of the semifinals, including model Carishiela Kuijpers, 21, and
Sandra Seifert (photo) who had been disqualified a week earlier because she had posed for FHM, a popular men's magazine.
Seifert's disqualification was totally absurd, as her pictures in the magazine were tastefully executed (not one topless shot either).
Seifert is exactly the kind of girl that Miss Universe is looking for, and it appears that internal conflicts within
BPCI (Binibining Pilipinas Charities, Inc., headed by Stella Marquez de Araneta and retired designer Pitoy Moreno) prevented yet again another
potential beauty queen from the Philippines to grace the world stage.
• TEEN IDOL : Jasmine Murray, 16, (photo) Miss Mississippi's Outstanding Teen 2007, made it into the Top 13 on American Idol.
Murray was one of four contestants chosen by the judges during Thursday night's Wild Card competition. Murray was a top 10
finalist at Miss America's Outstanding Teen and has received recognition for her outstanding community service with the U.S.
Dream Academy. She was also a special guest performer at Miss America 2008. “We are so incredibly proud of Jasmine,” said
Kim Parrish, president of MAOT. “We wish her the absolute best as she strives to accomplish her goal of becoming the next
American Idol.” Jasmine will continue on in the competition which can be seen nationally on FOX on Tuesday and Wednesday
evenings at 8/7 Central.
• QUEEN OF COUNTERFEITS : Counterfeiting is not exactly congeniality, but authorities in Cape May County say a
former North Wildwood beauty queen had a talent for printing and using fake $50 bills. Ashley Fuhrmeister, 21 (photo),
a business major at Atlantic Cape Community College and Miss North Wildwood 2007, was arrested Friday along with
her mother, Kelly A. Nowacky, 44, on charges of forgery and possession of forgery devices. The investigation
found that sometime in January, both women used counterfeit $50 bills at a Wawa on New Jersey Avenue, just a few
blocks from the waterfront condominium where Nowacky lived. Fake $50 bills also were used at another store in
Wildwood, police said.
• QUEEN OF TANNING : Brittany Lietz (Miss Maryland 2006, photo) spent all her time perfecting her appearance for pageants, which included two
and half hours per week on tanning machines. But after developing stage two melanoma at 19, she had to undergo 30 operations
to remove cancerous moles. Miss Lietz admitted she nearly lost her life due to her obsession with beauty pageants.
The 22-year-old, now married and expecting her first child, said: "I always had pale skin and wasn't really into sunbathing.
"But after I'd done a couple of pageants, I noticed all the girls there did indoor tanning. I didn't think I'd look attractive enough
for the swimwear round if I was really pale." She added: "At the time there weren't any laws or restrictions in Maryland as to how
old you had to be to go on a sunbed. "I told my mum and she wasn't happy about me going. She warned me not to do it but I didn't
listen to her."
