If you're a regular Twitter user, you've probably seen the Fail Whale more times than you can count. It appears every time Twitter's servers get overloaded and go down, which is quite often.

Twitter went down again the other day--no surprise there. But, instead of the Fail Whale, I got this.

What the hell? Is that a worm? Where did the Fail Whale go? Boo.

Hey Twitter, changing your fail mascot doesn't do anything to help your reputation. You still suck.

(Follow me on Twitter! Why? Um... uh... because I might decide to twit regularly again someday? Yeah, that's plausible.)

Congratulations to Charlotte Marie for winning a bag from Bratpack and to Charm for winning a Wii party package from Red Box. Check your email for instructions on how to claim your prizes from GeiserMaclang.

Philos and Chinesemafia helped me pick the winners using the Borda count method. The results were far from unanimous, and several other entries got significant amount of votes, so don't feel too bad if you didn't win.

I want to thank the following people for participating: Ade, Tiffy, Rowena, Tricia, Roanne, Jenny, Franny, Kevin, and Mark (who submitted a good but late entry).

The first time I saw the above photo of NBA superstar Allen Iverson on ESPN.com a few days ago, I thought he was just taking his temperature with a thermometer. I thought maybe he was pretending to be ill after losing yet another game with his new team.

I forgot about it until I saw this yesterday.

There it is again! What the heck is that thing sticking out of his mouth? Joyfulchicken said it's a mouthpiece. I'm not sure I agree seeing as it looks like a straight thing. But then again, how would I know?

What do you people think?

The other day, the owner of a web design mailing list that I'm a member of sent the saddest email ever to his subscribers.

I have organized 2 mettings so far but only 1 person has attended so unless there is more interest I will not be organizing any more.

Only one person attended your "mettings"? Ouch. Hmm, wait a minute... were you that one person? Double ouch.

Hotel Sogo is a chain of cheap ass "hotels" where young lovers go to do naughty stuff. And it's everywhere--almost as ubiquitous as Starbucks. I swear, whenever I drive around Metro Manila, I see a Hotel Sogo sign every time I look out the window. That annoys the hell out me, and I'm not even sure why.

Maybe it's how "Hotel Sogo" cheapened the name of the real Sogo, a chain of big department stores with branches all over Asia. I frequented the one in Taipei as a kid, and I have fond memories of the place. (Or not... I actually don't remember much.)

Or maybe it's just the ultra-lame tagline that Hotel Sogo has: "so clean, so good." I understand the importance of cleanliness in a place where people roll around naked on the beds and spray body fluids everywhere, but Jesus, "so clean, so good" sounds so tacky.

To be fair, I've never been inside a Hotel Sogo, and for all I know, it's possible that their rooms are really as nice as the Photoshopped one shown on their non-functional website. And I have no evidence that they're not as clean and good as claimed. Still, the place just seems hopelessly jologs to me.

And, horrors of horrors, they're getting worse. Here's a photo taken by Philos from a train.

It should be "every day" and not "everyday," dumbass.

I almost vomited when I saw it. Is that their new tagline? My god! Also, that dude is totally a pedophile--the girl looks underage. And I can't get over how they spelled "Valentine's Day" with something that looks less like the letter A and more like either petals or distended vaginas. Well, if it's the latter, it would actually be quite appropriate.

It's the opposite of hot.

WARNING: NSFA (not safe for anyone)

I'll post a real blog entry later in the week, I swear. In the meantime, go join our two contests down there. Tell your friends too. Go go go!

... party package for five from Red Box! What, you think we can afford to give out a shiny new Nintendo Wii? Of course not. But seriously, an evening spent at Red Box playing the Wii with four of your friends is almost as good as owning a Wii, except for the part where you have to wake up the next morning Wii-less and feeling empty inside.

We'll get to the contest mechanics soon, but first, let me tell you how much I love the Wii. I've only tried it out a few times (at the Red Box Wii Night and at Philos's brother's "bachelor party"--in quotes because a bachelor party without a stripper isn't a real bachelor party), but I already love it to bits. It's the most innovative gaming console ever, and the Wiimote makes everything feels more fun. Plus I kick ass at Wii Tennis. Well, maybe not, but at least I kicked Philos's ass.

Red Box has been around for quite a while as a karaoke place, which means that I never gave much of a crap about it. But now, the Wii is available in their rooms for just an additional 99 pesos per head. Now I'm considering throwing a Wii party at Red Box for my next birthday.

You can throw your own Wii party too if you win our contest (sponsored by Red Box and GeiserMaclang). All you have to do is leave a comment telling us which Wii game character you are and why before November 15, 2008. Be sure to include your real email address with your comment so that we can contact you later. The funniest commenter wins a Wii party package for five people.

This contest is open to anyone who has four friends and can get to Red Box (branches in Greenbelt and Trinoma). Just like our last contest, members of the Chicken Mafia blog team along with their family members and girlfriends and pets can't win... sorry, Chewie (that's Lizzy's new puppy).

Tired of "contests" that don't let you win anything? Here's a real contest brought to you by Bratpack and GeiserMaclang.

Joining is easy. Just post a funny story involving you and a bag in the comments section here on or before November 14, 2008. Be sure to include your real email address with your comment so that we can contact you later. The person with the best story will get one of these three bags from Bratpack:

JanSport

A Backpack that is well loved by many, which evolved into a modern hippie bag. JanSport is largely associated with contemporary art and supports one's artistic individuality.

Hedgren

A bag intended for the young female urban achiever. Hedgren bags manifests that real style never shouts.

Timbuktu

One of the premium laptop/messenger bags out in the market today. It is made of sturdy materials which make it a perfect companion for traveling outdoors and in wear and tear situations.

This contest is open to anyone willing to go all the way to Makati to claim the prize. If you can't or don't want to do that but still want to share your story, please say so in your comment.

To avoid conflict of interest, members of the Chicken Mafia blog team along with their family members and girlfriends and pets can't win the contest.

Saw this on Real Time With Bill Maher last week.

I don't know what to say about it, so let's have a caption contest. Yay! Post your captions below.

Today's guest bloggers are violent alien robots created by Lizz... coming soon on AngryRobotsAttack.com.

L-Robot and I successfully infiltrated a meatsack gathering last Thursday evening. The pitiful creatures were all excited about a huge outdoor art gallery with pretty art billboards. I didn't know much about meatsack art, so I was confused for a while.

Fortunately, with the help of my superior electronic brain, I didn't stay confused for long. I soon realized that things in meatsack art aren't necessarily real. Deceitful meatsacks!

After more eavesdropping, I learned that their art billboards are part of an effort to save the planet. Save the planet? Ha! I understand now! Those "art billboards" are actually cleverly disguised defense shields put up by meatsacks in a futile attempt to slow our invasion!

The Manila Outdoor Gallery Art Route is the largest outdoor art gallery in Asia. Look for the giant art billboards along EDSA and North Luzon Expressway. See http://www.outdoorartgallery.com.ph/ for more information.