JessicaRulestheUniverse.com

Dear Auntie Janey,

Lots of love,
Miss Congeniality

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Our Philippine rugby archive is here.

All right, you’ve seen the Bench underwear ad with the members of the Philippine rugby team, you have the behind-the-scenes video on a loop, now you know what we’ve had to put up with all year—trudging after these troglodytes in different countries when we could’ve been watching the extended edition of Berlin Alexanderplatz or reading the collected works of Thomas Pynchon while listening to Gesualdo’s Tenebrae. Oh the humanity. But in the words of Uncle Ben Parker—that’s Spider-Man’s uncle, try to keep up—with great power comes great responsibility, so we shall bear this burden without. . .with minimal. . .with comparatively little complaint.

Rightmost in the print ad, wearing white, a scowl, and a retro ‘stache, is Chris Everingham. You may have seen him recently in a magazine fashion spread. Here he is at last year’s Borneo 7s tournament with fellow Bench model Ned Stephenson (who looks about 12 in this picture; in the layout you’d better hope he’s not 12).

It’s beastly out, you’re stuck at home, what do you do? You listen to Chris Everingham’s playlist.

“When I’m a bit a down and out and can’t go outside I break out into a bit of dancing and listen to classics like these.”
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We hear a lot about sexism in sports. We’ve never experienced discrimination on the basis of gender—we are lucky to work in an industry where the enemy is not men or women but idiots in power. As my Jedi master Teddy-wan has always told me, “The stupid must be terminated.”

It occurred to me today that as a female covering an extremely testosteronic activity I may encounter some discrimination. (Perhaps I have already been discriminated against, I just never notice.) After all I started the sexism by portraying the athletes as objects of beauty. And I have mentioned my ignorance of the rules of the game. That was months ago; trust me, I’ve learned stuff. It’s rugby, not quantum physics. Speaking of quantum physics, let’s bring in the Heisenberg indeterminacy principle: The presence of the observer affects the behavior of the observed. Whom no one would know about if the observer weren’t there.
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Using Photo Booth for Mac. (Eww must clean screen.)

On Wednesday, June 1, 2011 at 1500 hrs the national men’s rugby 15’s team the Philippine Volcanoes face the toughest challenge in their playing career. They will meet the top-seed and host nation Korea in the semifinal of the Division 1 Tournament at Ansan Wa~ Stadium in Ansan, Korea. At stake is a place in the Division 1 final, promotion to the Premier Division in Asian Rugby, and then a shot at the World Cup. We will get there, but first we need to win this.

It won’t be easy. The Volcanoes battle not just a powerful opponent eager to climb back into the Asian Top 5, they face an entire nation cheering their rugby team on to victory. Don’t let them do this alone.

We need you to come to Ansan Wa~ Stadium in Ansan, Korea on Wednesday to support your national rugby team. Your mere presence would mean so much to the Volcanoes, who have fought so hard and given up so much for a country that barely knows they exist. They don’t play for money or fame; they play for something that can’t be touched but is so powerful that it pulls them here from all over the world. They do it for Filipino pride.

Help them do this. Your presence will make the difference. See you on Wednesday; look for the flag.

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Please repost, tweet, post on your Facebook pages, just get the word out. Thank you! I emailed the embassy in Seoul, hope they answer, and the Buhay sa Korea website has been kind enough to post the announcement.