I can hardly contain myself as I sit here just thinking (and blogging, of course) about the arrival of my favorite yearly show of all time. Broadcasting live via satellite from Vietnam, the 57th Miss Universe will commence tonight at exactly 8 pm central time.

Like usual, I have already gone through the process (a self-imposed homework) of picking out my personal favorites out of the 80 lovely delegates from the different participating countries. This time, however, due to obvious lack of time, I have no choice but be very brief in my assessment about the winning qualities of my favorites.

In ramdom order, here are my chosen beauty queens:

Miss Venezuela: Dayana Mendoza (22 y - 5′ 10") -> She’s my numero uno. She has the X-Factor. With a gorgeous face and magnetic personality, she is a force to be reckoned with. I hope she does well in the Question & Answer portion.

Miss Finland: Satu Tuomisto (22 y - 5′ 9") -> This girl’s got the funniest mannerism I have ever seen in a beauty queen, particularly when she’s talking.

Miss Puerto Rico: Ingrid Rivera (24 y - 5′ 9") -> I’m pretty sure she’ll be one of the top finalists.

Miss Brazil: Natalia Anderle (23 y - 5" 8") -> Lovely face and body.

Miss Canada: Samantha Tajik (24 y - 5" 10") -> Tall and sexy!

Miss Mexico: Elisa Najera (21 y - 6′ 0") -> Though the tallest among my picks, I don’t think she has what it takes to win the crown.

Miss Ghana: Yvette Nsiah (21 y - 5′ 7") -> My favorite among the black lovelies. She is very pretty in the face and seems a whole lot smarter than most of my top favorites. I just don’t think she’ll make it to the semi-finals, though.

Miss Czech Republic: Eliska Buckova (18 y - 5′ 9") -> Young and pretty.

Miss Poland: Barbara Tatara (24 y - 5′ 9") -> Another pretty, and sexy.

Miss Egypt: Yara Naoum (20 y - 5′ 9") -> A beautiful punk and a bit of brains to match.

Miss Indonesia: Putri Raemawasti (21 y - 5′ 7") -> My favorite among the asian contenders. She just seems very friendly and humble.

Miss Philippines: Jennifer Barrientos (22 - 5′ 8") -> What can I say? She’s from the Philippines; of course she has my support!

Miss Australia: Laura Dundovic (21 y - 5" 11") -> I like her wholesome personality.

Miss India: Simran Kaur Mundi (21 y - 5′ 9") -> A pretty face, she will do well in this competition. But her proud personality is such a turn off.

Miss Colombia: Taliana Vargas (20 y - 5′ 11") -> This girl’s so lovely! One of my top 5, if the actual judging decision was up to me.

Miss France: Laura Tanguy (22 y - 5′ 8") -> I just don’t understand why France hardly ever make it to the finals, man.

Miss USA: Crystle Stewart (26 - 5′ 9") -> I admit, she wasn’t really my pick to win the Miss USA title but hey, she took it home. What more can I say?

Miss Bolivia: Kate David (21 y - 5′ 7") -> She isn’t really as pretty as her counterpart from last year but her stage presence is hard to ignore.

Miss Ireland: Lynn Kelly (20 y - 5′ 8") -> She is pretty, cute, and funny.

Miss Panama: Carolina Dementiev Justavino (19 y - 5′ 9") -> She’s my 2nd personal favorite, right next to Miss Venezuela.

Miss Vietnam: Lam Thuy Nguyen (20 y - 5′ 7") -> Since Vietnam is the host country this year, I’m sure she’ll be one of the 15 semi-finalists. Common courtesy dictates it.

Well, that’s all of them; my top picks for this year’s MU competition. I am keeping my fingers crossed that at least a few of them will make the semi-final cut, most especially; Miss Venezuela, Miss Panama, Miss Colombia, and Miss Finland. 

So good luck to all the MU contestants!