Tales from the Mos Eisley Carinderia

Comebacks...

2011-12-31T22:09:00.000+08:00

I'm back...
like the Empire struck back...
like Star Wars in 3-D in 2012...
like Douglas McArthur...
like Arnie in Terminator...
like the 2011-2012 NBA season...
like Tim Tebow's signature come-from-behind miracle plays...
like Barca came back from 1 goal down to win 3-1 over Real Madrid in their El Classico match...
like my mom who recovered from a serious illness...

It's always good to be back.

May the Force be with you all and Happy New Year!

The Black Mamba-lorian turns 32 and how I hunted down Kobe Bryant

2011-08-23T07:17:00.001+08:00

Happy Birthday Kobe Bryant, my favorite NBA player slash Bounty Hunter slash cold blooded Assassin!

When Kobe first visited Manila in 1998 as a promising NBA sophomore, my brother and I went to Festival Mall in Alabang where Kobe was supposed to make an appearance at the Adidas store (he was still endorsing "the brand with the 3 stripes" back then). I was collecting NBA cards then and had a solid batch of Kobe Bryant rookie cards waiting to be signed by the newest rising star of the LA Lakers. Alas, a change in schedule led to the cancellation of Kobe's Festival mall appearance, and together with a sizable number of fans, we went home disappointed and frustrated.

Fast forward 9 years later. Fresh from winning his 4th Championship with the Lakers, Kobe visited Manila again in September 2007. Once more, I missed the opportunity of seeing the Black Mamba in person. It was already too late when I read the news of Kobe's visit, and I also had work that day.

When I learned that Manila would once again be a stop in KB24's Nike Take Every Advantage Tour, I made sure that I would not strike out on the chance of seeing the planet's best basketbal player in the flesh. Filing a vacation leave on July 13, 2011, I headed over to the Nike Fort in Bonifacio High Street. I didn't mind standing 4 hours under the noon heat just to get a good vantage point of the stage where Kobe was supposed to appear.

Much to my dismay however, a cameraman positioned himself strategically in front of the stage where I was standing, partially obstructing my view. But I would not be denied. I didn't wait 13 years just to be frustrated by an ill placed piece of equipment.

When the moment finally arrived, I jostled to get a decent enough of a view. And there was my reward... The Black Mamba right before me very eyes!

Infiltrating The Star Wars Underworld

2011-08-19T07:36:00.000+08:00

Hello Carinderia Patrons! It's been a while since my last post, but still I'd like to thank you all for dropping by my blog. I never imagined I'd get 11,200+ visitors already in just seven months!

That being said, I wanted to ask a small favor: Please drop by The Star Wars Underworld Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/swunderworld), "Like" the page, go to the photo album "September 16 Logo Contest" and vote for my entry:

Art used in this logo are from "Star Wars - Boba Fett: Agent of Doom" comic book (Ronnie Del Carmen - Boba Fett foreground, Francisco Ruiz Velasco - Boba Fett background")

Thanks a bunch and May the Force be with you!

Gboy turns 7!

2011-08-02T23:07:00.000+08:00

Our son Gboy celebrates a milestone in his life...it's his seventh birthday today!

His heart is a bit different from everybody else's. God made it so. An ordinary heart cannot contain so much courage and love.

To our Ultimate Alien, our little Azkal, our young Jedi...may your dreams and wishes all come true our little Superhero!

Kaholeros: The "Revel" Alliance, the Bark Side of the Force

2011-07-31T15:24:00.000+08:00

The odds were stacked against the gallant Azkals and yes we lost at home 2-1 to a superior Kuwaiti team last July 28 . But still our support for the Philippine Men's Football Team never wavered. In fair weather or foul, in victory or defeat, we Kaholeros barked for flag and country!

Arriving at 1pm with the Kaholero contingent from Cavite, we assembled at McDonald's Harrison Plaza...

Photo courtesy of Craig Burrows

To borrow a line from drum master Jean Peaul Zialcita, my drumsticks are my lightsabers...

Photo courtesy of Jean Paul Zialcita

Coach Rudy Del Rosario with the green headband, Master Jean Paul Zialcita with the shiny pate...

Photo courtesy of Jean Paul Zialcita

Ebong Joson, aka the Blue Haired Fanatic, our pied piper, the leader of the Kaholeros, being interviewed by ABS CBN's Niña Corpuz before the match...

Photo courtesy of Jean Paul Zialcita

To the battlefield called Rizal Memorial Football Stadium we Kaholeros march...

Photo courtesy of Jean Paul Zialcita

4-0 says fellow Kaholero Jerry Vale Cruz!

Photo courtesy of Jean Paul Zialcita

PILIPINAS!

Photo courtesy of Jean Paul Zialcita

My best buddy and high school teammate Alan Trinañes spotted me outside the stadium...

Photo courtesy of Alan and Tina Triñanes

A rainy Thursday didn't dampen our spirits nor did it prevent Pinoy football fans from filling the coliseum.

Photo courtesy of Alan and Tina Triñanes

WE BELIEVE! Spot me wearing the yellow raincoat below the 3rd E...

Photo courtesy of Craig Burrows

With my officemates and fellow Kaholeros Chat, Mye and Lyn...

Photo courtesy of Lyn Vega

Game on! Azkals Goalkeeper Neil Etheridge keeps the Kuwaiti attack at bay with several great saves. Throughout the game, even when it rained intermittently, we cheered the team on, Aquadrums beating as one.

Photo courtesy of Craig Burrows

Fil-German Stefan Schrock scored the game's first goal with a thundering right-footed screamer....

Photo courtesy of Craig Burrows

...sending Rizal Stadium and the whole nation into jubilation! To quote Craig Burrows, "After the goal, who cares about spelling?"

Photo courtesy of Craig Burrows

Two goals scored by Kuwait in the 2nd half ended the 2014 World Cup dream for the Azkals. A poignant moment captured on film, defender Ray Jonsson's expression below says it all...

Photo courtesy of Craig Burrows

But the dream lives on! This temporary setback will only serve as fuel for the Azkals to keep on improving. For a young RP squad, once the favorite whipping boys of Southeast Asian teams for decades, to have pushed powerhouse Kuwait to their limits, speaks highly of the tremendous leap that football has made in this once predominantly basketball crazy country.

Photo courtesy of Mardy Gonzales

After a post game pep talk by the Blue Haired Fanatic, we all went home after the game still wearing smiles on our faces. We may have been defeated today, but victory was still ours...for the Azkals, for the Kaholeros, for Philippine football.

Like the Azkals, the Kaholeros will strike back. We shall bark and bite with all our might!

Azkals trailing Kuwait by 3 goals? Never tell me the odds!

2011-07-28T08:58:00.000+08:00

C-3PO: Sir, the possibility of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately 3,720 to 1.
Han Solo: Never tell me the odds.
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

Today the Philippines will host the 2nd leg of the 2nd Round World Cup Qualifier vs Kuwait. After a gallant stand in the first 45 minutes of their away match in Kuwait, where the Azkals conceded only 1 goal to a team 50 places higher in the FIFA World Rankings, the highly touted Al Azraq produced 2 more goals in the 2nd half to own a commanding 3-0 lead going into today's home game at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.

Again, like many instances in their past games, the Azkals have their backs against the wall. Which suits them fine for they have always been the underdogs, their moniker a stylized version of the Filipino word "askal" derived from two words "aso" (dog) and kalye (street), or mongrels. If the Kuwaiti team thinks they can already snooze and cruise their way to victory, they will be in for a rude awakening. Now that the Azkals are playing on their own turf, the indomitable Pinoy spirit will be come to fore. This is our doghouse!

I, together with the Kaholeros, the 13,000 people in the stadium and the millions of Filipinos watching on their tv sets tonight, will come together as one to be the Azkals' 12th man. Our battlecry: WE BELIEVE!

To quote Ebong Joson, more popularly known as the Blue Haired Fanatic, the driving force behind the Kaholeros:

""When is an askal at its most dangerous?" a foreigner asked me one day.

"When it is down and bloodied," I said. "Just when you think it's over and you are wearing a stupid smile on your face, it will jump up and bite you on the jugular. That is an askal."

Down and bloodied? Down 3-0?

Never tell me the odds! Go Azkals Go!

One with the (Kaholero) Force!

2011-07-05T12:36:00.003+08:00

Who cares if the Philippines is currently 159th in the FIFA World Rankings? This I can tell you, as a living witness to the home leg of the Philippines vs Sri Lanka home game on July 3, 2011 at the Rizal Memorial Stadium, no one can contest now that we're right up there with Brazil, Spain or any other nation for that matter, when it comes to fervor and passion for football.