Mini-rant on Miss Universe 2006

Yes, I do watch the pageant. But for some time now, I haven't rooted for a candidate as much as I did this year. But just like the last time (1999, when Philippine candidate Miriam Quiambao fell one place short of the title), I ended up disappointed. Japan's Kurara Chibana had it all: looks (whoa), smart answers (atypical, but cute, charming, and still smart), a fanbase (the cheers for her were thunderous), and a killer national costume (literally: she wore a sort of samurai suit; it won Best National Costume, deservedly so). But she still lost to Puerto Rico's Zuleyka Rivera Mendoza, who admittedly was the more typical Miss Universe. This makes it Puerto Rico's fifth Miss Universe crown. Japan has had only one. Come on, if Chibana's answer to the final question had been bad (as Quiambao's had in 1999), I'd understand her loss. But it didn't. Maybe the male judges (which most of them were) didn't like her answer about male violence about women being something she wanted to change. I'm just really disappointed.