The Viewer

Best advice to Carmelo: Stay put

2010-09-28T08:23:00.000-07:00

It has been reported that Carmelo have shown up in their team's media day. After the circus he generated coming to this training camp, Carmelo did the wisest thing, play basketball and be mum. With trade talks taking a slight pause, he could use the silence to ponder what he wants.

Turning down the extension offer from Denver swirled numerous rumors about Anthony's unhappiness with the way things are going for his squad. It's really frustrating when you have been that close (2 more games win could have catapulted Denver to the 2009 Finals), and not being able to duplicate it the very next season when you are expected to do better things. But in the NBA it's not an isolated case. Dallas is one big example (2006 finalist, NBA top seed in 2007 only to be upset by no.8 Golden State). Yet it's also true that with the way the Lakers have put up their team they'd be in contention way beyond after Kobe Bryant retires from the game. And that is the reason why in my opinion throngs of former Western Conference superstars have bolted out of the conference and found the East enticing.

Which brings us to the present situation, Melo seemingly wanting to go Eastside, with the alibi of wanting to play close to the Manhattan area. Anthony is a Brooklyn native. Wanting the big stage that his friend LeBron James shied away, seems a valid reason for moving. Great scenario. But that's until he swings another great city into the mud... Chicago. The New York Knicks and the Chicago Bulls are known superstar makers not named LA. Those who have played in the MSG were showered with big love from New Yorkers, even if their teams were not so great (remember the Marbury era?), and what about Chicago? The city ranked as one of the highest in gate attendance even in their troubled years in 1999-2005. And from Chicago rose the universally recognized best player ever (Now what's his name? I guess you know). Both teams have the tradition of winning and creating stars. So why is he not traded there yet?

For the Knicks, their lack of tradeable pieces hurt them even draft picks are a scarcity for the club for Chicago, them not wanting to include Noah in the mix (good for them). This resulted for a search for a new trade partner. Enter New Jersey, Utah and Charlotte. New Jersey and Denver are the principal teams in the proposed trade with Utah and Charlotte as secondary trade partners. Denver gets draft picks, Andrei Kirilenko, and Derrick Favors, Charlotte gets Devin Harris and Jarvis Hayes, Utah getting Boris Diaw and Quinton Ross and New Jersey getting Carmelo and DJ Agustin.

What halted the negotiation? Carmelo. New Jersey felt (and rightfully so) taht uless they get a commitment from Anthony long-term then the negotiation is a waste. True. But if I was Carmelo why would I like to be there? Because of Brook Lopez? Lopez have yet to prove he can play high level basketball with a winning NBA club. If New Jersey trades Devin Harris, Melo would be stuck with secondary level players like Farmar, Hassell, Morrow and the likes. With the East continuing to upgrade I don't think New Jersy could compete right away and might need for Chris Paul. But there is no guarantee also that Paul might wind up there, even if they relocate to Brooklyn. It's wise that Carmelo thinks the only way to win is to partner right away with another all-star something the Knicks and Bulls can offer right away.

So if I was Carmelo I'd stay put for now, wait 'til the contract is over then move on. I don't think any other team can trade for him mid-season if he doesn't commit long-term anyways. It would be disastrous.

In balance of good and evil

2010-09-28T02:33:00.000-07:00

I love Charice's voice. I do. And I like her on Glee. That is why it was such a buzz here in the Philippines that our very own petite girl was casted on the hit TV show. But on the hindsight I must balance adulation and criticism as part of being a good viewer. Good voice doesn't translate to being a good actress as Charice also demonstrated in her pilot appearance on the show. Let me give you an example.

If you were confronted by a serious and commanding presence would you smile or back-off a little? In their restroom scene, Lea Michele confronts Sunshine Corazon (Charice's character) in an intimidating manner, and instead of being annoyed Sunshine smiles throughout the "Telephone" sequence. Really awkward.

One more thing that bothers me is Charice's hand gestures in her audition piece which is very reminiscent of her other famous video "Pyramid". It's eerie that the performances shown in the music vid and the audiotion piece is the same. I hope Charice does a little more creativity the next time. I'm Filipino and I don't want to be biased to my "kababayan" (compatriot), and I only point this out as means of improvement. Having said that I wish her all the well.

Shalom.

Does the Miami Heat have what it takes to win the championship this year?

2010-09-25T08:03:00.000-07:00

You know the rants NBA legends like Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley and Magic Johnson have thrown over this new-formed triumvirate. We know how Cleveland reacted when James bolted out of town to go South Beach. Even Phil Jackson takes a jab at this newly minted contenders (“I always refer to when Wilt Chamberlain was traded from Philadelphia to Los Angeles and that put Baylor, West and Chamberlain together — three of the top scorers in NBA history — and they never won a championship together the four years they were together. It’s not always scorers and talent that wins it. But it’s teamwork that does it.”).

Phil obviously has a point, but I think he also missed on the issue that those three partnered near their dog days much like this edition of the Boston Celtics. These three are young driven individuals who want the championship. But can they? That is the question.

Honestly THEY can. But will they win it this year? Maybe not. Maybe yes. And I'll break it down for you.

Recently the Celtics tried the same stacking formula and it worked in their favor. But you need to remember how they did it. Just before their season ended the team fortified the little chinks in their armor. They added veteran Sam Cassell and PJ Brown. Sam may not seem much at the time but an aging former NBA all-star guard, but the guy has been a winner all his career. He knows how to win it all -he was a rookie when he won his first ring - and is a steady guy down the stretch heck he even help that awful Los Angeles Clippers make the play-offs his first year there. How about old reliable PJ Brown? PJ honed his game in the rough 90's. This guy was an enforcer. Remember the Knicks-Heat rivalry near the end of the 90's he was in the middle of it (PJ flipped Charlie Ward to the sidelines, body-slamming him, and a melee ensued. They also got Tony Allen and James Posey as defenders. Now you know what kind of fortifications the Celtics did yo ensure they get to that elusive crown.

Which brings us to Miami. Does the Heat have that kind of depth to make a serious run at it. Yes they've shored up on the big men but I don't think their big men is as talented or would be capable of stopping the likes of Shaquille O'Neal (even in his down years) and Dwight Howard. With the kind of Bigs they have, mostly offensive minded guys, I don't think they'll be stopping lots of talented big guys out there. Their backcourt is as depleted as well, with Mario Chalmers probably their best stake at PG. Yes the Miami Thrice is there but those three can only do as much and will be limited to 6 fouls. I'm also not that high on Chris Bosh, as he always shy away form contact and prefer the perimeter to take his shots. I think the Heat would benefit more from playing a conventional back to the basket power forward than play another perimeter wannabe guy like Bosh in their offense.

The Heat have lots of things to do before they can really be a real threat to the Lakers crown. But mind you the talent is there, team chemistry is another thing and if the Heat can shuffle it's roster one more time middle of the season... They might just pull it.

Picture: From Web

Chopsuey!

2010-05-23T07:04:00.000-07:00

As my Blog-header suggest I'm all about viewing, may it be free TV, cable or the movies (lately my eyeballs have been stuck watching NBA basketball). During the course of last month up to this time of day (as I write this) I have watched a total of 6 movies in the movie theater (my most in a span of two months) all of whom I'm going to critique for this entry. Now, Let me remind you that I have not done this in a long time since my other blog from friendster so the critic in me might be a little rusty, please bear with me.

*Note: 1. All ratings expressed herein are of the author's personal opinion and taste.
2. Photos used in this review are those already circulating in the web. No copyright infringement intended.

Legend of the oranges:

One Orange: Hey you are wasting a whole lotta money mister. Best save up for the rainy days.

Two Oranges: Some saving points but not enough to save it from humiliation.

Three Oranges: Good News: You're not going to die even if you miss out on this one.

Four Oranges: If miss on this you're missing a whole lot.

Five Oranges: Excellent. Just pure fuckin' genius.

Kick-Ass - Unpredictable. That's the only one liner I can put up for this movie. Personally I don't really know that a Kick-Ass comic even existed. Had not a fellow artist introduced the gig to me I would have had missed out on this big riot all together. Personally when I heard that there was going to be a movie about Kick-Ass, my initial reaction was "what-the-heck", it's not big as a comic as the X-men, Ironman, Spiderman etc etc. so why the big fuss by this artist (referring to the enthusiastic fellow of a co-artist in my former office). Inside of me it made me curious. So I kinda readied my money for the event. Seizing the opportunity to see it on theater on opening week I made a go for it.

In the mall (where the theaters are usually located here in the Philippines), I was utterly disappointed to see where the movie was showing. It was located in one of the set of theaters where very few movie goers would normally go... Very much unlike the blockbuster heavyweights where it enjoys the great venue. Not to be disappointed I still opted to get in just to get the thing over and my curiosity satisfied. I didn't care if it was worth it or not, I just wanted to know the flow of the movie and later critic it (as I am doing now). As I sat there I was astonished with what I saw, it's generally unpredictable! (Although the first scene was ordinary for me). The movie is really not your typical superhero movie. Hit-Girl is mind blowing! I won't go so much into details (because I want you to personally watch it) but after I watched this movie I made a post on my facebook account that says: Kick-Ass really kicks ass (Hey that's saying a lot not a lot of the movies I watch makes it on my Facebook wall). The storyline is fascinatingly accurate for it's comic version (yes after watching the movie I got a hold of the actual 2D version on print) unlike some of it's comic-based predecessors.

If you could own it on DVD, I would definitely recommend for you to buy it, not a single cent spoiled on this one amigos. It's definitely worth the watch over and over again.

Rating:

Clash of the Titans- Accurately inaccurate best describes the movie.Well this is the movie that I really anticipated, but it came a little up short to my expectation. Clash of the Titans is a movie adaptation straight the myths of Greeks, of Perseus in particular. First adaptation was in 1981 of the same movie title, so there was a huge amount of expectation for this version of the movie. If there was something lacking in the first film it was expected that this version would fill specially with the advanced digital age that we have. Unfortunately, what I think was the undoing for the movie is the fact that the movie makers missed out on some minor details. For example, Pegasus is Black? Heck Tri-star picture would have a large say on that can't they? And why the heck is the f a llen in the movie? Isn't the guy supposed to be in Transformers? LMAO. Another thing, Perseus and Andromeda should have been the main couple and not the girl whom Gemma Arterton played (Gemma by the way was way too hot in the movie that when she played as Strawberry Fields in the Quantum of Solace). Another mortal flaw is the depiction of Acrisius where he was depicted as the husband of Danae. Actually in Mythology, Acrisius should be the grandfather of Perseus not the husband wronged by Zeus. And why is it the Kraken was related to Hades when it should have been Poseidon's pet?

Yes we wanted a great watch, but we also wanted a movie that is true to form. I know there are liberties for great creative effect but changing history is not the way to go. Tell me now how the children would react watching this and relate it to what they learn in school this only brings confusion to all the young minds. Overall, Id say that the movie is visually stunning (save for the horrendous outfits of the gods) but accurately missed on it's base story.

Rating:

The Losers - The Losers is another comic tuned movie flick scenario. Plot: The team composed of Clay, Jensen, Roque, Pooch and Cougar is sent to the Bolivian Jungle on a secret search and destroy mission. The team soon discover though that they have been setup by a double crosser named Max. They rescued some children and another of Max's cohorts blew the 'copter that carried the children. Since it was a covert mission, the US government knew nothing of their mission but since the incident involved children massacred there was a huge international uproar. The group then decided to hide in Bolivia for the mean time and pretend that they are dead. Months after the incident, Clay is approached by a mysterious lady named Aisha who promises Clay and his team that she can help them track down and get revenge on Max for what he did to the team. and the story goes on and on...

Movie story is so and so, action scenes not too alien to buzz about. Technically it's an ok movie but for me there is no punch to it. I mean yeah you sit at the movie house and not really enjoy what you're watching. Sorry, but that's just how it really is, I'll tell you the good parts: Jensen pretending to be a psychic shooter, Aisha's steamy scene, The scene where a car is lifted up about 50 yards into the air when blown and Roque's death scene. And that's about it.

Rating:

Iron Man 2 -Ok alright Robert Downey Jr. did another superb job on the sequel, I mean he's really the best guy for the job. Playing as Tony Starks is like au natural for Robert. Praises for that. Actually I like how the movie is done, great effects, great CG animations everything is visually stunning. I only saw a few glitches in the story: 1. How can whiplash survive getting bumped by a car so many times and not suffer any fracture? Heck, Tony Starks even had a chance interviewing him at jail. 2. As seen on the photo Iron man's suits were designed with a circular chest plate to complement the arc reactor's circular design, how then at the end, since Tony redesigned his reactor to triangle, did the suits also changed their format (to become triangular chest plate)? Can Tony have done it in such short time of notice? 3. How can a totally revamped whiplash lose so quickly when showing up with a lowly engineered suit he gave Iron Man the fits?

Little details really but it could have helped the story if it was elaborated even more. There were also little surprises in the movie: 1. Nick Fury coming out of the dark. 2. Black Widow showing up (Boy, Scarlett is one hot girl) 3. Captain America's broken shield used as props (Be very keen-eyed on this as this was shown as Tony is constructing the means of creating a better reactor) 4. If you can be patient wait for last end credit detail and see Thor's Hammer at the end. Again this is a kind of movie where visuals overtake details and this movie offers a great deal of visuals stunning you to the end.

Rating:

Furry Vengeance - Being a Comedienne is one of the hardest job in the world, for one you have to think of a skit that's funny and very appealing, and of course you have to be original cause if somebody else have beaten you on that punchline chances are your joke would stink. Enough for the intro and let's get down to business. Brendan Fraser in my opinion is one of the better comedic actor because he acts so naturally his punchlines sells.

In Furry Vengeance, Fraser plays as Dan Sanders, who is the manager of a land development firm. The construction site? A protected forest! Troubles begin once the local animals discover his leadership role in the destruction of their habitat. With the leadership of a Raccoon, Sanders soon lands atop the forest's Most Wanted list, and realizes how much trouble a few feisty forest creatures can cause! The pesky critters bedevil Dan night and day, sabotaging his work, his peace of mind and even his wardrobe.

Looking at this short synopsis you might identify it as been there seen that mode, which is really sorry since it features a strong cast in Fraser and Brooke Shields alone. Rotten Tomatoes (from where I copied most of the synopsis for Furry..) gave the movie a passing rate of 7 percentile. I will not be as hard as them as there are still some scenes that'll definitely bring a smile to your face. Well it's a matter of taste really.

Rating:

A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) - How many sequels did this film had? 8? And this installment brings us back from the start. I'll be direct to the point. The movie is actually far cry from when I used to hide in the blanket just seeing Freddy show up comparing it to this edition (or maybe I have just outgrown the fear?). But yes, it's not as creepy as the last films, but it's better visually (you gotta owe that to the new technology). I think the story is also better narrated this time. There are scenes where you get surprised but after that you don't feel the same chill you felt in the last movies. It's different really, I think this is one of the films where Michael Bay's magic didn't work for his favor.

Rating:

So that's it. It's only May and there are a lot of pretty good movies lined up, Please never expect me to put up a review for the Twilight series since it's never going to happen. I just don't like it and I'm not intrigued by it. Expect me to put up an effort to Robin Hood, Shrek and a lot more movies this 2010. Until then. Godspeed!

Última palabra: Feel free to write your comments on this review, would like to hear from you.

The Last Months...

2010-05-01T09:05:00.000-07:00

I have not been able keep up, The upheaval is too hard, it choked me to the ground... I could've died.

I secured a job in January, a day job, and it gave me the usual chills... High hopes, high standards, the sense of idealism was back. Then reality slammed me back to the ground. It was at the second week of January when I received a call for a job interview, as I have done with the previous affairs, I cooly said: "yes I'm coming" then scheduled for the job queue the next day. And what a day it was.

After getting to the directions I was told on the phone, I found myself wandering in the middle of Makati not knowing where to go I phoned the office for further directions. After getting further directions I saw myself staring at a private lot, I knocked and eased my way to a stairway leading to a small neat unit passing as an office. With all these said and done I took my test. At the middle of the exam felt uneasy all of the sudden, I know I wasn't feeling really good... I was also setting myself to flunk the exam. After that I proceeded for a little chit-chat with the employer and was told to wait for a call shortly days afterward.

Needless to say when I got home my suspicions were correct. I was getting a flu. It got me bed ridden for exactly two days. I should have taken it as a stern warning.

Days after I recieved the you're-hired-call. I was happy, confidence was back and as aforementioned high hopes, high standards, the sense of idealism was getting unto me. I guess I hoped too much and that was my undoing.

I will not go detailing all of what happened in the days following my decision but then again what I'm going to say is: I came, I saw and I surrendered. The people in the office are quite good the environment was not as friendly, it was intoxicating. Too much restrictions and too much yelling (which made me feel small, feeling everything I did in the period was wrong and I didn't do anything right) destroys the spirit and pulls you down. The weight was weighing me down, I can no longer push it up... It was then that I knew the fight is not worth fighting. Responsibility is overtaken by the need for self-esteem. Sun Tzu once wrote in his book The Art of War, which I am an avid follower, stated that "there are five essentials for victory:

(1) He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.
(2) He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.
(3) He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks.
(4) He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.
(5) He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign."

I took number one out. I am happy with my decision and will live by it, I think it was for the best of both parties. It's best that we don't pull each other down, me not cutting the company's continuous development and them not slighting me and my individuality. I have high respect for everyone and I don't want to damage anybody's reputation. With that I will have my final words on this subject: Respect begets respect.

Painting is relaxation

2009-11-17T21:23:00.000-08:00

It has been years (2004 to be exact) since when I first held a brush and painted. Actually the last was in college, a requirement for graduation. Painting then for me is not an art but a piece of obstacle that I need to accomplish in order to finish my studies (if you read my blog earlier you would have known I was enrolled as a Fine Arts Student). fast forward to October 2009, I had this urge to hold a brush once again, but was adamant of what I could produce... So I re-tested my skills with the brush.

I bought my first canvass, the first time since when, and started painting. This was the first piece:

artwork size is 14"x 18".

I was happy I could still nail it and kind of re-learned new techniques, and I felt learning should not stop there so I bought another clean canvass and painted a day later I was able to come up with this:

"youthnovoice" 12" x 18" detail

I was thinking of the upcoming elections when I painted this, and I thought I make to remind the adults to go out and vote, since their children can't speak for themselves and for certain issues, Their parents should address this incapacity and let themselves be the voice of the youth. Let the elections not be of popularity but of true service and genuine concern for our country. That is the message I wanted to convey.

I was becoming enthusiastic with the results that I tried another piece which I titled "under pressure":

Size is 12"x 16"

My concept for this artwork is easy. Remembering my office days, there was often time you really feel intense pressure to perform and perform well, what better way to represent it on paint than under water? So I painted a man contemplating and picturing himself under the intense pressure of under water diving... There very simple. :D

Painting for me nowadays has been a source of self-expression (very much blogging) through paint I hope to convey some of my messages and thoughts, plus it's very relaxing (despite the strong smell of linseed oil). I know I still have a long way to go to perfect this craft but as the old saying go practice makes perfect.

I wish to share more artworks in the future and I know I won't be running out of idea... Until then I'll be keeping you posted!

In defense of Pacquiao

2009-11-16T22:00:00.000-08:00

I was watching ESPN last night, and on a certain segment Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s face flashed, and he was complaining, like how his victories wasn't recognized that if ever he and Manny stepped inside the ring and he beats Manny people would say "oh somebody else has done that in his career" and he has been talking about all that gibberish all the time he was on screen.

Yet when analyzes everything wasn't it the same thing happening to Pacquiao himself?

First David Diaz, when Pacquiao knocked the guy out nobody praised him they said it was an easy win... but looking back at it Pacquiao have been fighting all his life at the smallest of divisions. He just stepped in at Lightweight and demolished a champion he gets no credit for it. Maybe only here in the Philippines but the so called "scribes" not even one.

Then Oscar Dela Hoya came, many predicted it would be a walk in the park for Oscar... Even the Mexicans were blowing their top for Dela Hoya's choice of opponent. Pacquiao made Oscar quit his stool in eight. Stunning in fashion. Yet again everybody brushed their shoulder saying Oscar had seen better days and is at the end of the rope. Again no appreciation.

Ricky Hatton came, younger and hungrier, Pacquiao stunned him in two. The same geniuses called the guy overrated and damaged. Whoops Pacquiao's achievement again goes to waste.

Then came Miguel Cotto, a pure welterweight, younger than Pacquiao, presumably stronger... Pacquiao takes him head on and after the fight everybody was cheering yet some still tags Cotto damaged goods.

Even with all the un-appreciation Pacquiao never cried foul. And here is a guy who wouldn't relinquish his claim to the pound for pound title barking at the wrong tree, He and Pacquiao shares the same fate (of under appreciation).

The difference lies with their choice of opponent. Mayweather seemed to take on lesser or beatable adversaries and passed on the greater ones. The real risk he has taken was that match against Dela Hoya... Pacquaio took on odds and proximity in choosing his opponents. Like a ladder he went up one step at a time. Mayweather seem to be posturing tough on TV, but the real battle is not fought by words in boxing but by fists.

Let the ring be the judge.

Money vs. Manny in 2010 a NEAR reality?

2009-11-16T19:21:00.000-08:00

Less than two days in the aftermath of Pacquiao's brilliant demolition job of Cotto there has been an insatiable clamor for the much awaited mega-fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather. There are already reports of Golden Boy promotions, through Richard Schaefer, trying to reach Bob Arum, Pacquiao's own promoter, to discuss details of an inevitable showdown. The talks could be dirty, as both fighters wants all the greens for himself and this talk could be longer than expected.

What we should be happy about is the realization of both fighters that this fight can't be set aside. It's a validation of who the best pound for pound kingpin really is. For Mayweather even more, since he defeated a percieved weaker opponent (in Marquez, a guy older, smaller and slower than him) and has been inactive for more than a year in such time Pacquiao rose to prominence beating opponents that Mayweather himself fought to a much brutal ending.

Mayweather beat Oscar in a unanimous decision, Paquiao made Dela Hoya quit his stool in round 8.

Mayweather knocked out Hatton in round 10, Pacquiao made Hatton kiss the canvass in 2 rounds only.

Mayweather retired after hearing clamors of him matching up with Miguel Cotto, Paquiao won over Cotto via TKO 55 seconds into the 12th round.

It would be a great match one a brilliant defender, the other a war machine ready for battle with loads of firepower. “The world is talking about this fight. Everyone wants to see it. I’ve never seen anything like it.” said Schaefer.

It is a fight 20 or more years in the making. A fight that could be comparable to Hagler vs. Sugar Ray. We're very lucky living in this generation if the fight pushes through.

This early Mayweather is fully advertising his brags: "The world is much more intrigued by the thought of someone fighting me who can beat me,” he said. “That is what everyone wants to see and the boxing world is trying to find that guy. Manny Pacquaio's people have done a good job of creating an image of him to be this unbelievable fighter and now the so-called guy to beat me. But like all the rest, he's not the one. There is boxing and then there is me. The rest are just falling in line behind me or are trying to get in line to fight me. And that includes Manny Pacquiao, too.”

But it is undeniable that Pacquiao has closed the gap, or even surpassed him looking at the results of his recent fights, devastating in fashion. Boxers can yelp all they want but the decision really is fought in the ring.

And that is what the world is waiting.

The best is yet to come.

* Picture used is an image circulating in the web, no copyright infringement intended. Quotes used are from ringtv.com

My Blog

2009-11-16T06:59:00.001-08:00

This is my third attempt to configure the look of my blog. Fortunately I am loving it's new look. I am no computer geek, and I couldn't have done the revision without getting HTML help from fellow netizens (I have no such patience as some of the guys here, will do painting instead). So I searched some free blogger template available in the net fortunately I stumbled with a very good one in this site: http://madebymadeline.blogspot.com/. I think the user's handle goes by the name of Madeline. Thank you very much.

As for those who have unfortunately viewed my blog recently you may have noticed this uninspired work as my header:

Well this certainly is not a work I'm very proud of, a product of some uninspired and unintelligent rush to put something in place of my previous header. It was then that I had this bright idea and used my ordinary skills in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop to achieve the concept I had in mind, the result was this:

So incorporating it with my Blog title you see the end results (scroll up please). So, it would be my header for now until I think of another better concept and I hope I do get another idea. And yeah that's me on the picture... Tee Hee Hee.

Manny Pacquiao undoubtedly is pound for pound best

2009-11-14T23:11:00.000-08:00

After brutalizing Cotto, a fighter most experts think was the reason Mayweather Jr. retired in the first place, Pacquiao secured his claim to the pound for pound title.

Pacquiao seemed to start slow in the first round, maybe getting the feel of the fight and wondering how brutal Cotto's famed body shots were before risking his own shots... then the barrage became relentless, flooring Cotto in the third and in the fourth most die hards knew it was a matter of time before the end. It came 55 seconds coming into the 12th that Referee Bayless put a halt on the battery Cotto had to accept.

Now you have to wonder how good Mayweather is compared to Pacquiao, Floyd was coming off a smooth victory over a man older than him, smaller than him, lighter than him and yet he only floored Marquez once. Pacquiao on the other hand floored a naturally bigger, younger and supposed to be stronger fighter of the two and pummeled him into submission.

After this bout I believe Pacquiao have secured his level above Mayweather and if Floyd wants another piece of that claim then he must outdo Pacquiao or get a piece of the man to settle the dispute once and for all.

Question is after Cotto got into submission does Floyd have the balls to follow suit?

* Picture used is circulated in the web, no copyright infringement intended.

Greatest NBA Players (in my opinion) Part 2

2009-10-15T08:18:00.000-07:00

As with the last post I wish to continue our count down on the greatest players to ever play the basketball game. But before knowing who tops the list let me give you a quick review on who got into our top 10.

10. Shaquille O'Neal - claim for fame: 2000 NBA MVP, 4x NBA champion, 3x NBA Finals MVP, 15x All-Star, 3x All-Star MVP, 1993 Rookie of the Year, 1990-91 NCAA AP Player of the Year, 8x All NBA first team member, 2x All NBA 2nd team member, 4x All NBA 3rd team member, 2x All NBA Defensive 2nd team member

9. Kobe Bryant - claim for fame: 2008 NB A MVP, 4x NBA champion, 1x NBA Finals MVP, 11x All-Star, 3x All-Star MVP, 7x All NBA First Team member, 2x All NBA 2nd team member, 2x All NBA 3rd team member, 7x NBA All Defensive first team member, 2x NBA All Defensive 2nd team member

8. Tim Duncan - claim for fame: 2x NBA MVP, 4x NBA champion, 3x NBA Finals MVP, 11x All-Star, 1x All-Star MVP, 1998 Rookie of the Year, 1996-97 NCAA AP Player of the Year, 1996-97 NCAA John R. Wooden Awardee, 1996-97 NCAA Naismith Men's College Player of the Year Awardee, 9x All NBA First Team member, 3x All NBA 2nd team member, 9x NBA All Defensive first team member, 3x NBA All Defensive 2nd team member

7. Oscar Robertson - claim for fame: 1x NBA MVP, 1x NBA champion, 12 x All-Star, 3x All-Star MVP, 1961 Rookie of the Year, 9x All NBA First Team member, 2x All NBA 2nd team member

6. Wilt Chamberlain - claim for fame: 4x NBA MVP, 2x NBA champion, 1x NBA Finals MVP, 13x All-Star, 1x All-Star MVP, 1960 Rookie of the Year, 1956-57 NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player, 7x All NBA First Team member, 3x All NBA 2nd team member, 1x NBA All Defensive first team member

* Note: Current NBA awards may not have existed during the time of some of these players for example: The Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP award was only given in 1969, Russell's last year in the league. Others include the Defensive Player of the Year award established in 1982-1983, Sixth Man of The Year 1982-1983, Most Improved Player established in 1985-1986, All-Defensive team also in 1969.

After reviewing our list let's proceed to the remainder of our countdown, the cream of the crop shall we?

5. Kareem Abdul Jabbar (Lew Alcindor) - the master of the sky hook, the all-time leader in points scored, Kareem was a rare 7'2 center, the fact that he lasted 20 years of battery in the NBA says a lot about his endurance and durability.
Before making it to the NBA, the Harlem Globetrotters have already offered him 1 million USD to play for them, unfortunately Kareem's destiny wouldn't be side-tracked so he politely declined the generous offer. Kareem then decided to play in the NBA choosing the established league over the up and coming ABA (which folded years after; the NBA though absorbed 4 of it's teams into it's fold: Nuggets, Spurs, Nets and Pacers). Entering the league via Milwaukee Bucks as Lew Alcindor (his real name before converting to Islam therefore getting the name Kareem Abdul Jabbar which means "noble, powerful servant"), his entry proved to be very timely. For one, Long time champion and probably the greatest center to date Bill Russell have just retired, and Wilt, although still effective was on his dog years at 33.

The Bucks got him as their number 1 pick as they only piled 27-55 prior to the draft. After his rookie season though Milwaukee would improve drastically as the young Alcindor compiled 28.8 points and 14.5 rebounds per outing, thus enabling the Bucks to finish 2nd place in the Eastern Division with a 56-26 record. Together with Oscar Robertson, Kareem would power Milwaukee in it's lone NBA championship in 1971.

Despite finding success in Milwaukee, Jabbar opted out of it because the place lacked of people who shared his religious and cultural beliefs. Bucks reluctantly obliged to the prodding of their once vaunted bigman and he was traded to the Lakers for Junior Bridgeman, Dave Meyers, Elmore Smith, and Brian Winters in 1975. In Laker uniform, Kareem would have to wait until 1979, the arrival of the very young but very talented point guard named Earvin Johnson to renew his championship conquests once again. The new duo would add 5 more rings to Kareem's collection of 6 championship titles. Kareem's mantra on court was: "Five guys on the court working together can achieve more than five talented individuals who come and go as individuals."

And that was probably what's best remembered of him.

To view Kareem's career stats click here.

4. Larry Bird - Howie Chizek was quoted saying this after Bird set a club record with 60 points in one game and scored 48 in another during the 1984-85 season: “Larry Bird just throws the ball in the air and God moves the basket underneath it.” Maybe the best description of how deadly a shooter Larry Legend was.

His addition to the Celtics, and Magic Johnson's to the Lakers in the 80's rejuvenated the NBA and was called the golden age of basketball wherein most of the all-time greats played in that single era. 70's was rather dull for the NBA, which lacked true charismatic players coupled with scandals of substance abuse from players.

Larry Bird came into a struggling Boston club who only had 29-53 in 1978-79. Actually Bird was originally drafted in 1978, but opted to stay in college for another year. So the NBA year was 1979-80 and Bird never let Boston, who were eagerly awaiting for him down as he would lead the Boston resurgence with an amazing 61-21 record, a +32 single season turn around even led the team straight to the Eastern conference finals where they were foiled by the Philadelphia 76ers 4-1.

Red Auerbach's genius never seem to run out as Boston kinda duped Golden State into a deal, a deal that would send draft rights to Joe Barry Carroll to the Warriors for Robert Parish and the rights to a draft choice that turned out to be Kevin McHale. Both Parish and McHale became NBA bests which I can't say for Joe, sadly.

Together, Bird, Mc Hale and Parish would form one of the best frontcourts in NBA histrory, thus earning the name "Big Three". In only his 2nd season, Bird would again lead Boston to the play-offs, square off once again against the Sixers which they eventually won, then secure his first NBA championship altogether.

As stated above, He and Magic would rejuvenate and renew the dormant rivalry of the Celtics and the Lakers. It was Black vs. White, East vs. West. A near perfect story board for the NBA, none-the-less an epic which roots back to their college days when Johnson's Michigan State beat Bird's Indiana University. In the NBA both would renew their individual rivalry. And they would stage it 3 times in basketball's biggest stage: The NBA Finals.

The first meeting in 1984 belonged to Bird, averaging 27.4 points on .484 shooting and 14 rebounds a game during the 7 game series. Boston would win 3 titles under Bird and he would earn for himself 3 NBA MVP awards, 12 All-Star appearances, 2 Finals MVPs and many other accolades. Although what set Larry apart was, he didn't had this many athletic gifts but he did fill that up with a lot of heart. He wasn't the highest leaper yet he got so many rebounds, nor was he the fastest, still he got so many steals. It was really Larry's heart and love for the game and competition.

Towards the end, Bird's body, broke down. He had been bothered by back problems for years, and his back became progressively worse. And this condition led to his retirement in 1992, finishing his career with averages of more than 24 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists per game, while shooting 49.6% from the field, 88.6% from the free throw line and 37.6% from three-point range.

"Larry Bird is the greatest shooter ever. He made every player on the court better and he made everybody believe they can win." Magic Johnson himself had been quoted of saying.

To view Larry Bird's career stats, click here.

3. Bill Russell - William Felton Russell wasn't always the happy man, as pictured above, Russell was a victim of intense racism in the 60's. The greatest winner in NBA history compiled an NBA record 11 titles, 8 of which came in a row from 1959-1966.

Bill was another product of Red Auerbach's trading brilliance as they landed him for Ed Macauley, then a six-time All-Star at that point and another rookie Cliff Hagan. Had St. Louis known what they were losing they wouldn't have opted for this trade.

Bill was the cornerstone of the Celtics dyansty and from his very first year Bill rallied his team for the championship, beating the St. Louis Hawks 4-3. In Bill averaged 16.6 points per game and a league-record average of 22.7 rebounds per game. He was also voted as the MVP despite only being a member of the All-NBA second team. The reason for this? The NBA reasoned that other centers were better all-round players than Russell, but no player was more valuable to his team. 2nd season though saw the Celtics losing to the St. Louis Hawks in the Finals 4-2, as Russell injures himself in game 3. This would prove to be the only dent in Bill Russell's Finals resume.

The next season, his third up to 1966 the Celtics would rack up the championships earning their 9th championship in only 10 years. Following the 1966 championship, Red Auerbach decide to call it quits in coaching and just presided over the team as it's General Manager. Leaving Boston without a coach, Red initially decided to give the coaching reigns to Frank Ramsey, but Ramsey was too occupied running his three lucrative nursing homes. His 2nd choice, Bob Cousy again declined as he didn't want to coach his former teammates. The third choice Tom Heinsohn also said no, because he did not think he could handle the often surly Russell. However, Heinsohn proposed Russell himself as a player-coach, and when Auerbach asked his center, he said yes, thus making Russell the first Black American to be named NBA coach.

Of course, this didn't escape the pre-dominantly racist journalists (it was the 60's afterall when racism was still THAT large in America, even though there are still some racists in the country it's not as rampant as it was in the yesteryears) who questioned his capacity to run the team; to which Bill replied:"I wasn't offered the job because I am a Negro, I was offered it because Red figured I could do it."

Unfortunately, the Celtics dynasty run was put to a temporary halt as Wilt Chamberlain's Philadelphia 76ers finally figured out how to oust the seemingly undeterred Boston locomotive. Russell acknowledged his first real loss in his career (he had been injured in 1958 when the Celtics lost the NBA Finals) by visiting Chamberlain in the locker room, shaking his hand and saying, "Great". owever, the game still ended on a high note for Russell. After the loss, he led his grandfather through the Celtics locker rooms, and the two saw white Celtics player John Havlicek taking a shower next to his black teammate Sam Jones and discussing the game. Suddenly, Russell Sr. broke down crying. Asked by his grandson what was wrong, his grandfather replied how proud he was of him, being coach of an organization in which blacks and whites coexisted in harmony.

The following season, Boston would climb back to the top with Russell and his aging staff. Bill at 34, averaged 12.5 points and 18.6 rebounds per game. In the Finals Boston beat it's perennial foe, The Lakers 4-2 to earn Russell's 10th title in 12 years. In Bill's ultimate season, he became disillusioned with the murder of RFK, Vietnam War, and personal difficulty ncreasingly stale (and later divorced) marriage to his wife Rose, he was convinced that the U.S. was a corrupt nation and that he was wasting his time playing something as superficial as basketball. With all this distractions the meager effort the Celtics could muster was 48–34 record was the team's worst since 1955-56, and was only seeded fourth in the Eastern Conference. In the playoffs, however, Russell and his Celtics achieved upsets over the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks to earn a meeting with the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. The Lakers were now parading their newest acquisition Wilt Chamberlain, a center they lacked in the previous meetings against Boston.

As both teams split the first six games then Laker owner Jack Kent Cooke made a mistake of motivating the Celtics, with the series finale shifting to Los Angeles, the Laker owner aforementioned was already putting "proceedings of Lakers victory ceremony" on the game leaflets. Russell used a copy as extra motivation and told his team to play a running game, because in that case, not the better, but the more determined team was going to win. And they did, Celtics won 108–106 to claim their 11th title in 13 years.

On court, he was considered the consummate defensive center, noted for his unmatched defensive intensity, his stellar basketball IQ and his sheer will to win. Russell was known to throw up before a game, and Red noted this. If Bill throws up they'll win.

During the 2009 NBA All-Stars, the NBA decided to honor Bill announcing that the Finals MVP award from then on will be now known as the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP award.

To check Bill Russell's stats, please click here.

2. Earvin "Magic" Johnson - If I were to name a player who made every teammate of his better I'd have no doubt of naming Earvin up there. One of the most unselfish players of the game, he was the all-time leader in assists before John Stockton shattered the record for good.

For his very first year, Magic would deliver the Lakers to the Finals. With him onboard, the Lakers compiled a 60-22 record, and the rookie only averaged 18.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per outing, yeah that bad despite playing behind one of the best players of the game (That's Kareem Abdul Jabbar if you just didn't get).

In the 1980 Finals, The Lakers took a 3–2 lead in the series, but Abdul-Jabbar, who averaged 33 points a game in the series,sprained his ankle in Game 5 and could not play in Game 6. With a lot of doubts whether they can close out the series without the captain, Johnson took it to himself and started out as center (he, throughout the game though, never played center he only jumped as "center" during the tip off and played all four position in the game), and scored 42 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists, and three steals, good enough to win the NBA Finals MVP award, the only rookie to do so.

Though they would not follow-up with a championship the following year (Johnson was injured for half a season) they would cap his third season with the gold with the young 6-9 point guard averaging: 18.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, 9.5 assists, and a league-high 2.7 steals per game.

Magic's greatness shone it's brightest when they battled long-time rival Larry Bird's Celtics. In Johnson's 5th season, he averaged double double with 17.6 points and 13.1 assists, as well as 7.3 rebounds per game. The Lakers reached the NBA Finals for the third year in a row, where Johnson's Lakers and Bird's Celtics met for the first time in the post-season. Bird would draw first blood in the encounters as Boston rally for the Game 7 win. It seemed Larry had finally avenged his loss to Johnson in their NCAA Finals duel in 1979.

Magic would then propel the Lakers revenge in 1985 with averages of 18.3 points, 12.6 assists, and 6.2 rebounds, although a sad note greeted them in the very first game of the series, the Lakers when they allowed an NBA Finals record 148 points to the Celtics in a 34-point loss in Game 1 in what was to become known as the "Memorial Day Massacre". To bounce back from the humiliating loss 38 years old Abdul-Jabbar, scored 30 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in Game 2, and 36 points in a Game 5 win were instrumental in establishing a 3–2 lead for Los Angeles. Lakers would end the series in 6 games with Magic averaging 18.3 points on .494 shooting, 14.0 assists, and 6.8 rebounds per game in the series. It was interesting to note also that it marked the first time any Laker team defeated a Boston Celtic team in their NBA long rivalry.

In 1986-87, Johnson averaged career-high of 23.9 points, as well as 12.2 assists and 6.3 rebounds per game earning him his first NBA MVP award. The Lakers met the Celtics for the third time in the Finals, most notable of which was Game 4 with Johnson hitting a last-second hook shot over Celtics' Parish and McHale to win the game 107–106. The game-winning shot, which Johnson dubbed his "junior, junior, junior sky-hook", helped Los Angeles defeat Boston in six games. Johnson was awarded his third Finals MVP title after averaging 26.2 points on .541 shooting, 13.0 assists, 8.0 rebounds, and 2.33 steals per game.

After winning their 4th title at the expense of their long-time rival, Coach Pat Riley made a bold prediction of them repeating as champions. It has been a long time since any NBA team repeated as champions the last time was in 1969 during the Celtics dynasty. Not backing down from the challenge their coach posted the Lakers again returned to the Finals and battled tooth and nails against the Detroit Pistons. Lakers won the series in 7. this proved to be their last title.

“I don’t think there will ever be another 6’9” point guard who smiles while he humiliates you.” says long time teammate James Worthy of Magic.

"Magic is head-and-shoulders above everybody else," Larry Bird once said "I've never seen [anybody] as good as him."

Should anybody question it now?

And now we come to the greatest of them all, should you ask who he is? Or is it already anticipated?

1. Michael Jordan - "Once Michael gets up there he says, ‘Well, maybe I’ll just hang up here in the air for a while, just sit back.’ Then all of a sudden, he says, ‘Well, maybe I’ll 360. No I changed my mind. I’ll go up on the other side.’ He’s just incredible." That's what Magic Johnson said in one interview.

For the millions who witnessed Jordan's heroics there is no room for argument on the incredible part of Magic's speech. But there are critics and skeptics about him being named as the greatest. In 1980, the US press have already named Bill Russell as the greatest ever in the sports. Largely because of Russell's number of championship. In his own words: Nobody is going to question you when you winning or something in that effect.

Yet one critic and a Russell friend Wilt Chamberlain bares some doubt on the authenticity of the claim citing that Russell played with a number of Hall of Fame players, last time I counted the most was 8 at one point of his career. While it is true that Wilt had his share of HOF players their number dwindles in comparison to Bill's collection. In 1992, Magic Johnson was heralded as the greatest ever by acclamation, But one argument was Johnson lost to Michael Jordan in 1991 and since then Jordan never relinquished the crown. So by that means Jordan had his claim since he had wrest the throne from the erstwhile king.

Here's what some critics say:

1. Jordan doesn't deserve being called the GOAT (Greatest of all-time) because he has never won any crap in the 1980's: While it is true that Jordan never won any title in the 1980's we should note that when Jordan was drafted the Bulls were already a rebuilding team. They have missed three straight play-offs without no. 23 in there. The moment Jordan was added the Bulls started their string of play-offs appearance.

Kareem also hit Jordan some more when he said: "As brilliant an individual that Michael Jordan was, he was not successful until he got with a good team unit. " Yep tell that to the marines captain, because before getting Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson you were just like David Robinson and Jordan... Making it to the play-offs only to fall short of the Finals.

Before Jordan had Pippen, Grant, and Cartwright, basically the core that made it to the championship Jordan was teammates with forgettable names such as: Dave Corzine, Quintin Daily, Chris Engler, Sidney Green, Dave Greenwood, Rod Higgins, Steve Johnson, Caldwell Jones, Charles Jones, Wes Matthews, Jawann Oldham, Ennis Whatley and Orlando Woolridge. Woolridge was the only player to note of Jordan's former teammates in his rookie year, but you need also to note that Woolridge started getting effective almost at the same time Jordan joined in the line-up.

Until Krause duped Seattle for Scottie Pippen in 1987 (traded for Olden Polynice) Jordan never had talent, well except maybe for George Gervin, but George only appeared in 2 games in the play-offs and was never the old reliable he once was in that series against Boston.

2. Jordan never made his teammates better. Jordan had a career average of 5.3 assist. It was well noted that Jordan wanted to burn himself in practice "so that in games, it'll be a lot easier" and his teammates were part of his routine. Jordan instigated grueling practices that it almost became too personal, Jordan would taunt his own teammates even punched Steve Kerr once in practice because he was "getting to his head". Horace Grant resented those practices but it proved to be fruitful as the Bulls got better and better every game. Pippen as Phil Jackson himself would confess later got most of his chops from Jordan not from the coaching staff.

It was also Jordan's most memorable passes in various game-winning situation, most notable was the pass to Steve Kerr after luring John Stockton on the double in the Game 6 of the 1997 Finals. Proved to be the clincher (actually Toni stole the ball in the next play and dunked it but Kerr's shot sealed the deal).

4. Jordan played in a watered-down league. Jordan always gets the flak every time someone puts up the 72-win season. Some say that Jordan only won it because of the many expansion team that lingered during the period. Yet they also fail to notice that despite those circumstances no team have ever put up that much wins in history. Why not New York who had a better team then? Why not the Lakers? (With Shaq, Van Exel, Jones and Bryant).

5. Nike was the reason Jordan ever had claims with the GOAT. Before Jordan even made it to the NBA, Converse already had the foothold of the league. Investing heavily on Magic and Larry's juggernaut images Converse primarily won the wars. Here comes Jordan with then little known Nike brand in tow, it was actually Jordan's consistency and heroics that propelled Nike to the top, not the other way around. Read related article.

6. Jordan never made Washington better. Before Jordan came aboard, Washington only displayed 19-63 in their win column, his arrival aged 39-40 gave the team a pair of 37-45 finishes. That's +18 wins. It's easy to point out Jordan's failure to lead the team to the play-offs but Jordan did have that chronic knee injury to begin with. Plus the fact that he should have been well retired by then and should had just basked in old glories... Well I think he just wanted to prove something yet again. And he didn't fail entirely, for a 40 year old guy he did average above 20 points a night thus shattering old records made by former greats who made it beyond 40.

Why was Jordan the GOAT then?

Jordan captured the hearts and minds of everyone, lots of players nowadays grew up watching Jordan dominate modern basketball. From dethroning the erstwhile champ (Magic Johnson), to making it two in a row, to capturing an Olympic Gold and having the three peat (made it two times).

I don't think there was any other player as successful as Michael, you know, from the top -- retiring-- then coming back on top. As an old guy in washington he wasn't just any veteran help as other guys have been relegated when they reached the 40 year old plateau. He was still the star in Washington.

Jordan also proved that he can play despite being under the weather, Michael proved that in Game 5 of the 1997 Finals in what was known as the "flu game". Jordan pored in 38 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 1 block despite battling flu-like symptoms throughout the game (later it was said to have been a stomach virus).

"That was probably the most difficult thing I've ever done." Jordan would later confess.

"I almost played myself into passing out just to win a basketball game. If we had lost, I would have been devastated, because of the circumstances, with this being a critical game in the Finals, I'd have to say this is the greatest game I've seen Michael play. Just standing up was nauseating for him and caused him dizzy spells. This was a heroic effort, one to add to the collection of efforts that make up his legend." Phil Jackson adds.

Another entry we should add is that after missing all but 18 games of his sophomore season, Jordan led Chicago against Boston and ultimately scored 63 points, all that while everyone else was scared that he might recur the injury.

At the height of the Bad Boys dynasty there was no player the club feared than Michael Jordan, thus they instigated a defensive mechanism to limit Michael Jordan, a technique later known as the "Jordan rules". "I think that ‘Jordan Rules’ defense, as much as anything else, played a part in the making of Michael Jordan,” said Tex Winter, who was an assistant coach for that Chicago team. The 1990 loss forced Jordan and the Bulls to find an answer to Detroit’s muscle.“Those Jordan Rules were murder,” Winter explained. “The fact that we could win the next year even though they were playing that defense says everything about Jordan as a competitor. Any lesser player would have folded his tent.”

Jordan also had the highest career point average, had the most Finals MVP award (proving he took it over when it REALLY mattered), had the highest single Finals series point average in history with 41.0, Recorded only triple-double in All-Star Game history, with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, in the 1997 NBA All-Star Game, Broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's NBA record by scoring in double-digits for the 788th consecutive game, scoring a game-high 33 points, against the Minnesota Timberwolves on 12/30/97, Holds the NBA record for most seasons leading league in scoring with 10 and holds single-game records for most free throws made in one half with 20.

And for all of these, for me, Jordan is the obvious choice for the GOAT.

To check Jordan's career stats click here.

Feel free to post your comments and reactions, any questions is gladly encouraged.

Sources: NBA.com, Wikipedia, Yahoo! Sports, Basketball-Reference.com, Youtube also photos used here are those already circulating in the net, thanks for those.

Greatest NBA Players (in my opinion) Part 1

2009-10-11T08:17:00.000-07:00

If you have been checking my thread you should have read some anecdotes about my educational background. I think it's time to introduce a new leaf. This blog is put up by me to give certain views on certain things and I hope you would continue reading this slot.

First up, being a NBA fan for almost half of my life I want to share my thoughts on the greatest player debacle, you know everybody seem to put up Jordan, Wilt, Bill or someone else's name without really knowing the background of these guys. Some kids even suggest Kobe is the best ever (Well that's mostly coming from kids I answer back in Yahoo! Answers) to play the game without checking the fore-runners of the sport.

I'm basing my ranking on the number of championships won, NBA MVPs, and all-time stats:
10. Shaquille O'Neal - The Shaqster has been around since 1992, and since his debut have been regarded the most dominating figure of the sport since Wilt the Stilt's time. In only his third season, Shaq would lead his Orlando Magic team to the Atlantic title with the record of 57-25. It was the same season where they went past the comebacking Jordan's Bulls in the 2nd round of the play-offs. Shaq would again power his Magic past the Pacers therefore meeting the victor of the Spurs-Rockets series which turned out to be Hakeem Olajuwon's team, the Rockets. Shaq averaged 28 points on 59.5% shooting, 12.5 rebounds, and 6.3 assists during his first finals stint despite being swept by the battle scarred Houston team.

In 1996, as a free agent, Shaq ditched Orlando for Hollywood where he would eventually team up with the young Kobe Bryant. The duo would lead the Lakers to three straight championships and four finals appearance in all (and winning all three Finals MVP award). It was also during this time that Shaq received his first and only MVP award (so far) in the 1999-2000 season. After being traded by the Lakers to Miami, it would take Shaq only two years (teaming up with Dwyane Wade) to give Miami it's first gold since joining the league in 1989 (same year as Orlando's) leaving his championship count to four. Shaq also had a good stint with Phoenix last season (2008-2009)after raking lots of valuable stats allowing him to climb the all-time scoring list with 27,619 career points (5th all-time). Shaq is still viewed as valuable asset nowadays as the Cavs made a pitch for him this summer to team up with another great NBA star of today in LeBron James.

For Shaq's complete stats click here.

9. Kobe Bryant - A lot of my Yahoo! Answers friends would raise an eyebrow if they read this. They know I am an avid Bryant critic, maybe criticized the guy in every aspect I can but last year Kobe gave me some reason to make a case for me I mean he has really transformed. So give credit where it's due. This Jordan Air apparent (probably the closest we have to his airness himself) was a High School phenom way back in 1996 allowing the then Charlotte Hornets to draft him as their 13th overall pick. Jerry West just have that amazing foresight that the Lakers following the acquisition of Shaquille O Neal, traded their long time center Vlade Divac for this youngster. He had a great rookie season, despite the dismal shooting he displayed against Utah that year (three air balls that spelled doom for the guys in yellow). The following season this guy was voted as the youngest all-star ever. Sadly they came up short again against Utah... the same disappointing spell haunted them in 1999 against Portland. As stated above Kobe together with Shaquille O' Neal would dominate from 200-2002. After years of feuding with Shaquille O' Neal about the star status of the team, the Lakers sided with Bryant and traded away the big fellow in 2005.

With the spotlight firmly focused on him Bryant would amass jaw dropping numbers. In 2004-2005 he averaged: 27.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 6.0 assists a contest, the following year he'd take it yet another notch higher with 35.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists. Memorable game to note is when he hit 81 points in one contest against Toronto, the mark is the second highest in NBA history. Though with all the accomplishments his team won't get past the first round until the 2007-2008 season where he would win his first MVP award altogether. 2009 is the most significant year of his career though as he would rally the Lakers to get past Orlando for the NBA crown, the first of his career without Shaq. Currently ranked number 17th on the all-time scoring list with 23,820 points, He's very much still at the top of his game owing to his tremendous work ethic and summer exercises during the off season, Bryant is still very much on the hunt for the NBA title which could push him higher in the rankings.

For Kobe's complete stats click here.

8. Tim Duncan - the guy is maybe one of the most underrated player in history, the guy who looks so unassumingly yet has the whole team on his back to carry. It was well known that before Tim Duncan the Spurs could only dream about landing in the NBA Finals... Never in their history were they perennial play-off contenders than in Duncan's time.

Tim Duncan was the first pick of the 1997 draft by the San Antonio Spurs, after a dismal 20–62 showing the previous season. Tim would team up with "the Admiral" David Robinson to form one of the most devastating front court in NBA history. Duncan and Robinson became known as the "Twin Towers", having earned a reputation for their exceptional defense close to the basket, forcing opponents to take lower percentage shots from outside. In his rookie season alone Duncan would average 21.1 points, 11.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.5 blocks per game and helping the Spurs gain a play-off spot as the 5th seed and before losing out to Utah in the second round of that edition of the play-offs.

During the lock-out shortened 1998-99 season, Duncan's 2nd season, The Spurs claimed their first NBA title with Tim Duncan contributing 21.7 points, 11.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.5 blocks per outing during the season, and after that title other titles followed in 2003, 2005, 2009.Tim Duncan is one of the ultimate team players in history, a player that didn't possess any superstar complex and who would gladly be relegated to the second or third option "as long as the team wins" as the passe saying goes. Tim is still on the hunt for his fifth NBA title together with Shaq and Kobe... And with the fiercest battles lingering expect so much from this guy.

For Tim Duncan's full stats click here.

7. Oscar Robertson - The original Big guard. The big O as NBA regulars fondly calls him was drafted as a *territorial pick by the Cincinnati Royals in 1960.

NOTE: In the early years, the NBA was trying to build fan support in its local markets. Having popular players from colleges in a team's local area was a way to increase fan support. To help the teams acquire local players, the territorial pick rule was introduced. Before the draft, a team could forfeit its first round draft pick and then select any player from within a 50-mile radius of its home arena.

As a rookie Oscar managed to muster not so amazing numbers of 30.5 points, 10.1 rebounds and 9.7 assists, for that earning the NBA rookie of the year and an All-NBA first team selection -the first of a 9 year run. However, the Royals finished with a dismal 33–46 record and stayed in the cellar of the Western Division. The following season Oscar would deliver the only thing that he and only he can accomplish: a triple double season averaging 30.8 points, 11.4 assists and 12.5 rebounds per game. The Royals earned a play-offs berth however, they were eliminated in the first round by the Detroit Pistons. Play-off frustration would go on and on in Oscar's career until he was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks for the 1970-71 season and teaming up with the young and versatile Lew Alcindor AKA Kareem Abdul Jabbar the newly formed duo piled up the wins to an impressive 66-16 record and setting a then NBA record 20 straight wins. Capping this spectacular performance, the Big O and Lew would capture the NBA crown at the end of the season. The duo would add two more division titles with the Bucks (1971-72 and 1972-73).

In Robertson's last season, he helped lead Milwaukee to a league-best 59–23 record and helped them to reach the 1974 Finals. There, Robertson had the chance to end his stellar career with a second ring. The Bucks were matched up against the Boston Celtics, but powered by an inspired Dave Cowens, the Bucks lost in seven games.

As testimony to Oscar's importance, the Bucks would fall to 38-44 following his retirement despite the overall brilliance of Kareem.

To view Oscar Robertson's career stats please click here.

6. Wilt Chamberlain - when God gave man unbelievable abilities Wilt must have caught hundreds of those abilities. Wilt set numerous records in scoring, rebounding, field goals, and once led the league in assists. The Big Dipper is one of the only two players to win the MVP and rookie of the year in the same year doing it in 1960 (the other was Wes Unseld in 1969).

In Wilt's very first NBA game he made his presence felt as quickly as he have arrived: 43 points and 28 rebounds. His rookie season would end with Chamberlain averaging 37.6 points and 27 rebounds, convincingly breaking old NBA records set by his contemporaries. Wilt would set this NBA records for himself: 100 points game, 55 rebounds game, only man to average 50 and 40 points seasons, averaged 48.5 minutes a game set in the 1961-62 season. He was also responsible for several rule changes, including widening the lane, shooting free throws. Wilt because of his poor free throw shooting would leap from the foul line and dunk it on the rim, the NBA banned the gesture. Wilt holds the record for most free-throws missed in a single season at 578 in the 1967–68 season, as well as the second most at 528 in the 1961–62 season.

Wilt was a total athlete, Wilt would make volleyball his second sport after retirement from the NBA. As a testament to his importance, the IVA All-Star game was only televised because Chamberlain also played in it: he rose to the challenge and was named the game's MVP. Chamberlain had promoted the sport so effectively that he was named to the Volleyball Hall of Fame: he became one of the few athletes who were enshrined in different sports.

Wilt is the only known player to have been courted to playing despite aging 45 years old, even had offers when he was 50... He was that good.

For the amazing feats he was able to amass, Wilt can only show 2 rings at his fingers, the two coming when he was averaging in the low 20's and was distributing the ball, clearly showing that individual feats alone doesn't guarantee championships but teamwork does.

To check out Wilt's career stats, click here.

Feel free to comment, or give you opinions regarding this article.

Sources: NBA.com, Wikipedia and some self knowledge. Special thanks to basketball-reference.com for the stats. :D

A violent reaction to the fuckin' proposal of a ninth ray on our flag!

2009-09-25T06:51:00.000-07:00

I have always been a reader of history and this same history dictates me to react to this bicameral plan to revise the present flag. I think our flag has been with us for the longest time, it served us in our time of darkness, our hard fought battles even up to now... why change it?

Let me quote the late great Teodoro A. Agoncillo on this issue:

"For us to add or subtract one or more ray in our flag is to twist the facts of the history of Revolution of 1986, since the flag was made in the crucible of the Revolution. An addition of a ray to the present eight rays of the sun would mean that the Muslims were the one of the first to rise in arms against Spain in 1986. This is not only unhistorical; it is also anti-historical, a clear case of prevarication of our history, for an addition of an extra ray to the present rays would create something out of nothing. The Muslims never participated in the revolution of 1986; nor did they participate in the war against the United States. On the contrary, the Muslim Sultan and his datus signed the so-called Bates treaty of 20 August 1899 by the terms of which the United States declared his sovereignty over the archipelago of Jolo and it's dependencies and in exchange for this, the United States agreed to pay the Sultan and his datus a monthly stipend. This agreement was concluded at a time when the people of Luzon and the Visayas, particularly Iloilo, Cebu, Samar, were dying to protect what was their own against the imperialistic pretensions of the Americans. These are the facts that cannot be blurred or erased by... mawkishness or by feeling of pakikisama. One thing is very clear: the Muslims never participated either in the revolution of 1896 or in the war against the Americans in 1899-1901.

There is one other point that should be emphasized in connection with the Muslim campaign to add a ninth ray to the present eight rays of our sun. And it is that the Muslims, in thus asking for a ninth ray, are inconsistent. They take pride in not having been under Spanish rule and were therefore independent. Being independent, they were not Filipinos, for they did not recognize the authority of Spain over them and refused to be subjects of king Philip II and the succeeding Spanish sovereigns. If they were independent and not Filipinos, why do they now ask to be retroactively under Spain who fought the revolution of 1896?

Let not our Muslim brothers destroy the history of the revolution by making it appear that they actively participated in that upheaval which led ultimately to Philippine independence... They should not intrude into the Philippine revolution of 1986 because they did nothing to help their Christian brothers in the struggle for freedom and independence... It is enough that they are represented in the present flag with one star; to ask for more is to abuse history."

So vivid and so true. I rest my case.

How to cook Tinola (Barci style)

2009-09-23T06:42:00.000-07:00

Happy!

That's how I am, hours after posting my last entry I received some warm reception. Finally had my first comment here. Posted by a foreigner. At least now, I know this space is gaining some sort of fanfare and I'm not just wasting time here harhar!

Just another commercial before I post something about my life again.

I'm about to teach you how to cook a Tinola. Tinola is an old favorite Philippine dish, Tinola or chicken ginger stew as Wikipedia translates it, is a very easy to cook and is best suited taken during these cold and rainy seasons. Mind you: I'm not an expert cook but I've served this stuff to many's delight.

Warning: Please always be careful when handling sharp materials such as knives, keep out of children's reach, And please keep them out of people who have suicidal tendencies and people who have tendencies to run amok.

Now that I've gotten it out of my systems here are our ingredients:

1 kilo chicken, cut in serving pieces
2 sayote quartered
2 potatoes, quartered
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 thumb-size ginger root, cut into strips
3 tablespoon patis (fish sauce, yeah that foul smelling one)
4 cups of water
1 bundle of chilli leaves (sili)
Black pepper crushed
2 chicken bullion cubes

Procedure:

In your sauce pan, heat your cooking oil after a minute or two saute the garlic, onion and ginger until it's natural fragrance reaches your nose, add the patis and the chicken bullion (this is the trick, because the bullion itself is a ready mixture making your tinola as tasty as you want it to be) add the Chicken let it simmer (is this the correct term?) with the bullion and the other spices, leave for 7-8 minutes.

Pour in the water, add some black pepper for more taste. Add the potatoes, you want them soft but not so soft as it was mashed. Cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the sayote, again you want this soft but don't over do it. Let it cook for another 4 minutes. Remember that you can add some patis if your still not satisfied with the taste.

Lastly, add the sili leaves.

Turn off the heat, put it in a serving dish, and voila! You're ready to eat your tinola...

PS. Please don't send me hate mails if your tinola don't taste good, you're the one who cooked it not me. I just gave you some instructions. hehe...

Until next time again! :D

Episode Five: College: OGEC

2009-09-23T00:23:00.001-07:00

I was a Fine Arts student.

When I was starting out my college career I was advised by a girl friend of mine (girl-friend not girlfriend) to enjoy the days as it will come as fast as it came. Need not to say her prediction seemed to me as true. Coming from a Catholic school with very strict environment, college was very refreshing. I had all the time in my hands nobody was rushing me, there was no torment. Maybe that's the reason why I appreciate FEU more than my kindergarten, grade school and HS alma mater. Although I must say that the high standards that my school gave me prepared me well fro the college algebras, english, and a lot of the basic stuff. That I am most thankful.

Also in FEU I got to have a wide variety of choices when it came to meals, not only do FEU have a canteen but students were allowed to lurk around the whole of Manila if they wanted to buy foods elsewhere, in my former school sadly that was not the case, it's either you rely on your "baon" or go to the gold-digging canteen where meals are served at the minimum at a very high price!

I think FEU gave me the school I wanted all along. As I said I respect my former school but compared to FEU I love the latter more.

Ok here's some story about my days in FEU:

When I was in FEU there was this OGEC curriculum (OGEC stands for Office of the General Education curriculum), it was imposed to all first year students so that most of the minor subjects could be taken up during the first year without any major subjects so that if a student decides to pursue a different course different from his/her first choice he/she won't be hassled changing courses because all subjects taken up are minors. So you see it was not known to me until my very first day. So to my surprise when I got into the room designated for me when I applied for my schedule, there were guys who were into accounting courses, psychology, nursing and others.... I was like "Whoah! am I in a twilight zone?" turns out I was one of the only few who did not know of the current policy.

Within the next few days I assembled a new group, comprised mainly of a geek, a coño, a pasaway, a nerd and two stoic guys (one was me). Our favorite "ulam"? Monggo soup by Manong Dugyot. Our geek friend had this shack apartment just beside FEU and we would camp there during breaks, at the lower portion of the apartment was a mini canteen by Manong Dugyot (I codenamed him that because he was like an arabic guy that don't take a bath), there were 6 of us and the coño guy can't argue with our preferential place for food or be doomed to eat alone. That how we were until we finished the first sem of the first year.

Around this time I realized:

1. I had this character to bring people together, even though not as leader but as a bridge.
2. Girls get attracted to me, even I don't know why. I'm stoic remember?
3. I was still in the upper levels of each of my class.

It was the first in a long while that I had girl friends (again not the romantic side but friends), and I love them they were morale boosters for me. Alas, Come 2nd sem all the allies I rallied to my side were lost to me. We ended up not being classmates anymore, and I was left by my lonesome again without any classmate from the previous semester.

2nd sem, First year: I had new friends whose image were meaner, bigger, we had a grand time tripping. We were not the "It" boys but my pals had the making of Mafia members. They looked brute but are really friendly. It was at this time I had my first difficulty in college. Logic.

Logic was easy, problem was that subject's schedule was too early for a teener coming from Cainta to abide to. I was most of the time tardy at sessions thus not understanding the subject altogether. At mid-term my grades for the subject still hangs in the balance, last time I checked I was near 5.00 or failure. It was also true for half of the class. I felt so tense, nearly hopeless. I even informed my mom that I might flunk it... But then again, I think the "One Above" never wanted me to fail, I doubled my efforts of coming to school our class was at 9:00 and now I was waking up at 5:00 at 6:00 am I was on my way to school. Fuck the LRT-2 then, the traffic that it's construction yielded was just too much sometimes I would arrive at my designated room 5 minutes before the Logic subject. Imagine a 3-hour travel everytime!

Somehow I sighed some relief as I was quickly getting the groove from the subject, although I would sometimes arrive weary-eyed, sleepy, I still was catching up with the lessons. Finals came and I had 2.50 voila! What was wonderful for me wasn't for my other classmates a quarter took the plunge.

First year is finished at last. OGEC was over, on with the next nightmare!

But that's for the next ish peeps! Until then... Don't break a leg.

About the Author: Episode Four: College, the application

2009-09-06T22:58:00.000-07:00

Year 2000 AD. I was in a mad dash of applying to a new school, You see our school (Cainta Catholic) is offering college courses but none of those interests me, you see I'm into the arts and the courses offered there is for teachers, another thing is that I already abhor being there being in the school since Kinder it made me too familiar to be happy... I need to be in a new environment.

The first university I tried out was none other than UP. Here's the story: UPCAT was held every August if I'm not mistaken. The school made it very easy for us since they volunteered to do the test enrollment for us, we just added a few peso on their account for them to do so (it's better and it's hassle free).

After we got the schedule for our test me and a friend of mine whom we fondly call "monyo" (that's demon in a different lingo)went to the UP wars. Unfortunately for us we got separated with our classrooms where we would take the test, so I took with me my mom and my little sis (I hardly know the UP compound which has the biggest cusp of land if I ever saw one) to accompany me to the battle field. My loving mother, concerned as she was as always gave me a hamburger meal as "baon". So on to the testing area I went. Before starting the exam the proctor asked us to surrender all our means of communications as to defeat any temptations of fraud during the exam. To my surprise everybody got up (except me) and surrendered their cellphone right in front of the white board area. I felt a little slighted by this gesture which kinda hurt my pride.

On to the test, due to the earlier incident I was hardly able to focus and would entirely cram every time an exam is about to finish (subjects for the exam include general science, math, english, history and social sciences and current events), on that tense moment I remembered my "baon" so I slipped my hands to the side of my bag's pocket and began to unwrap the burger goody (it was allowed to eat inside since the tests began at exactly 12 nn up to 3 pm), it was then that I realized that the aroma of the burger was already traveling fast inside the air conditioned room and my test mates where already eying my booty, I then concluded that they forgot to take food with them during the duration of then exam... Ay! Caramba! Sweet Revenge harhar!

I also tried out other colleges such as: PUP, FEU and TUP.

The most challenging for me was PUP, we excused ourselves for our classes for 4 days just to secure a slot for it's entrance exam... Why? The process includes falling in line behind a kilometer long barrage of students, all those student form different schools and different provinces trying to cram their way into what remains to be one of the most cheapest and notable state colleges in the country.

Next stop for me was FEU... FEU is a one day stop and process is amazingly fluid. Maybe because it was a private college. TUP was the last stop, my mom forced me into it although it was not very preferential for me (I get up late and the school is in Taft I don't know what time I had to get myself up just so I can make it in time during classes).

Courses I penned for the entrance exams at the schools aforementioned:

UP: Fine Arts
PUP: Architecture (Fine Arts was my supposed to be course but it was to be offered the next year prior to my enrollment)
FEU: Fine Arts
TUP: Fine Arts

Results:

UP: Flunked but had a score of 2.50, I think their passing rate was 2.25.
PUP: Got 99% in history. Average of 88% for the test. Lowest was Science at 80%
FEU: Never got the grade but they said I passed. I felt the test was for formality and they were getting me anyway.
TUP: Guess what I finished the whole exam at exactly 45 minutes... With surety in my answers, the proctor was stunned, I said their test was so easy. He got my paper and kinda separated it... I was thinking I got politicized there.

Overall the hike and traffic and the stress got the better of my 10 pounds as I became much lighter when we finished the entire process.

So I got .500 batting mark. College here I come! (I guess you know what college I chose later, if not look at the picture above and get a hint.)

Disclaimer: Picture not mine. Got it from the net. :D

Enjoy the next issues! :D

District 9: A commentary on the *fuckin' prawns (pronounced as fukin proons)

2009-09-02T08:24:00.000-07:00

Epilogue: This might disappoint those who have previously read my blog, please excuse me for deviating my topic for awhile from a little auto-biography of myself (if you haven't been bored out already) to this.

Disclaimer: The image used herein is something that circulates from the web. No copyright infringement intended. Another thing reading this might preempt what you'll see and think of the movie in general.

Story: I was so bored this afternoon that I decided to treat myself to a movie house. Since District 9 gave so many critics I've read a huge fuzz I decided to check it out myself. So finally I cashed out 110 PHP for a de luxe seat, while smiling intently on the gorgeous lady handing out the tickets (really loved the face... well anyway) and buying myself some soda before proceeding to the cinema itself.

Not really known to check time, I was caught off-guard, because when I seated the movie was very near it's end (so you see it spoiled the excitement of the ending), oh well. I content myself looking at the other viewers lip locking inside the theater house hehe.

It took 15 more minutes or so to the actual ending of the movie and another 20 minutes before the next showing or directly after the trailers of the next up and coming movies (am I being redundant? next and up and coming?). Waiting wasn't all that boring, I even noted some movies I might hunt in the following days (like Sherlock Holmes and The Christmas Carol by Disney) so that made me very content. Come the featured movie.

I know Peter Jackson for his Lord of the Rings and Kingkong and I came to know he wasn't a slouch on the production and the film sequence. And I wasn't disappointed with the graphical production of the movie. The story hits another fresh approach, set in Johannesburg, South Africa the actors naturally spoke in thick African accent a huge deviation from the regular American and British accent we're accustomed to. Another thing is we were used to Aliens tearing us and terrorizing humans. In this movie we are the ones who make them submit to our rules.

The film kicks off with a documentary type of movie... You know interviews, the kind that documents life situations here's the plot: a huge alien ship landed to earth and has since set in Johhanesburg for the last 20 years. You can say that after all those time the aliens and the locals have grown accustomed to each other enough for them to huge barter trade to get what each camp wants from the other. The aliens, camped in what the government calls "district 9" settles for cat food (they seem to have a very big liking for it) and they trade their weapons for a hundred thousand cans of those.

The aliens would have develop tantrums and would eventually attack the local citizens, causing casualties and damage to both sides, irking the natives which requested the government to relocate the disastrous prawns as the locals call them because of their shrimp-like features. This makes the best entrance for our main hero, Wikus. Wikus was a member of the MNU, the private company contracted by the government to carry out the relocation. While doing his job Wikus accidentally sprays a a fluid to his face after raiding a house and confiscating a silver canister. After the incident Wikus fell ill, was brought to the hospital wherein they found a gradual transformation on his side from human to prawn starting from his severed hand which got injured in a previous incident during the raid.

You see MNU or the Multinational United is a big weapons distributor and have long wanted to incorporate the aliens own weaponry in their arsenal since the alien weapons are operate through alien biological means the MNU can't operate one alien weaponry. Wikus was then seen as a link by the MNU as to operate the alien machinery for personal gains. As they tried to put their experiment on him Wikus overpowers his captors and manages to escape... Here starts to cat and mouse chase between the fugitive and the corrupt company.

Wikus in despair came to the place he knows he might not be searched... District 9. Here he befriends Christopher Johnson and alien who owned the silver canister that spayed the black liquid on Wikus face and the key for him to regain his human form as Christopher told him that he knows how to cure Wikus' illness. So the two breaks in the MNU building to retrieve the canister. After the break-in and return to district 9 Christopher informs Wikus that he has decided to seek help from his people before curing Wikus' ailment which would take 3 years. Frustrated, Wikus knocks Christopher out and powers up the spaceship which was the command module with the help of Christopher's son. Moments after lifting off, MNU soldiers destroy one of the ship's engines with a missile, causing it to crash land nearby.

From the ship, Christopher's son activates the mother ship. Wikus gets into a robo-suit and uses it to rescue Christopher from MNU mercenaries and provide him with cover while he makes his way to the command module. Promising Wikus that he will return in three years to reverse his transformation, Christopher summons a tractor beam which lifted the module into the mother ship. After decades of hovering above Johannesburg, the mother ship leaves with Christopher and his son on board.

Some light moments: To cover up the events Wikus was accused of having sexual intercourse with the aliens therefore contracting himself of the alien form. After making his way to a local gang to retrieve some weapons for their assault in MNU, Wikus was taunted by the members because of the report for he was pictured in a "doggie-style" position. He was tatunted even more because of the questions: "Did you use condom?"

Some intriguing questions:

1. Why did the aliens drop the module in the first place? If it was what they needed to get out of the planet why then misplace it underneath?

2. How did the aliens and humans understand each other? The aliens were using a different language but Wikus and the locals seem to understand them...

3. Why were the gang members allowed inside District 9?

4. If the command module was that small, How come so many alien crop up in Johannesburg?

Overall, the movie receives a 3.75/5 from me. It's a fun watch and never a dull moment, although some technicalities in the story took some leverage from me.

For those of you who have yet to see the movie please watch the trailer through this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6PDlMggROA

For the next post I promise to continue on what I've left for episode 3. Until next time folks, Keep on reading.

About the Author: Episode Three: The High School Strikes Back!

2009-08-30T05:51:00.000-07:00

Epilogue: High School life is said to be the most joyful time of your life... For me? Heck it's another grueling journey towards the fulfillment of your study life.

Story: First Year High School. Shaved my head last summer. It's as skinny as you can get. My classmates looked at me as if they have just seen a shaolin monk. You see I have Chinese features all over me, chinky eyed as I was, yellowish as I was. I had a lean 5'5 frame at the time (A grade 6 classmate of mine would tease me about a commercial who had a chinese man as it's model).

You see I am a little introvert and I don't like anybody staring at me... especially someone scrutinizing you from head to foot.

First day, First year, First disaster. I helped myself sitting at the first seat available to prevent more scrutiny. Days as a High schooler goes on so fast, I grew my hair as long as the Beatles had their mop tops, I collected quite a band of friends... Actually almost all of the boys in the room were "barkadas" at the middle of the school year at one time we did something naughty that it could have been lifted from a scene of a comedy movie.

Here's the scene: we have this enemy teacher (the commandant of the CAT officers), who seem to be on our tail all the time, annoyed by this autocratic authority the boys devised a plan to get even. You see this commandant loves watering our school garden, the plot was to take the hose off the nozzle of the faucet. And that they did (I was not able to join them it was recess and I was busy chewing my hotdog lunch but I was able to see them do the plot as the scene was not that far from where I was eating). As the poor guy was watering the plants he was surprised to find that hose suddenly ran off of water. Maybe contemplating what happened he suddenly placed the end of the hose close to his face... And the naughty boys plugged the hose once again and WHAM! Water splashed into that poor guys face.

Naturally he was angered by this and hunted us down, and when he saw us threw us at the guidance counselor's office. My guys protected me (as they know I wasn't part of the deed) so I was spared from the Armageddon. I forgot to tell you that we called our section "Tondo". That's how rowdy we were at the time. It was also at this same time that I developed crushes even if I didn't know it at the time (I had a longing for that one seatmate of mine after we were separated due to seat re-arrangement, It was then I knew that I grew fond of her). At the end of First Year I realised that High School was a new phase, a new life, and it's true to some degree.

Second Year. I developed a new hobby. I created an Anime inspired comics with me and my new friends as characters, It somehow gained some notoriety as a few more of those I knew copied my idea. It was by then that I developed a increasingly addicting hobby of buying NBA trading cards. It was 1997 the height of the Bulls dynasty. Naturally we were in the middle of a basketball frenzy as almost all of the Philippines idolized Michael Jordan. NBA trading cards is not only a hobby but a business opportunity as well, I had one rare Jordan card once and traded it for one whole box of trading cards which I sold to my classmates 10% off prices then of a pack was 50 PHP I sold it to them 45. So in a weeks time I collect about 500 pesos enough to buy another box and sell it the week after. Great business, Great business and that was how the second year was... Our room was turned into a mini-casino with so many betting opportunities to choose from (I wouldn't tell the participants one is near our house and he might get me if I sell him ha!

Third Year. Somehow I felt that a lot of girls was crushing on me I wonder why (hey no joke!), It was my first time to be invited to the intramurals as a basketball player, Had talented classmate in Louie Glenn (he's a great sketcher), and was part of the Dating Daan group (my classmates tagged us as that, maybe because of our intense knowledge of the Bible? I don't know). You know what if I have read Ambeth Ocampo around this time I would have contested my teacher's claim about Rizal during the time (we all know that there was a required reading of Rizal in Third and Fourth year).

Fourth Year. I had a crush. I think she had one on me too, too bad I was so lame at the time and didn't grab the opportunity. The last year of High School and I was so focused of rushing to college... I had no time for fun, no time for crushing (just kept it inside)... I was so determined of getting good grades. I loved debating matters, had respect from my peers was one of the teacher's pets. I felt like doing it at the time because I believed my whole college life would depend on how I'd handle my Fourth Year. Love could wait, that was what's on my mind (though it kinda frustrate me up to today). I had good grades but happened after that is not what I expected.

Things I did bad in high school:

1. Tried smoking.
2. Drank gin dry, in the hot afternoon sun.
3. Didn't study for the exams and came up copying my seatmates answer. (In line with this, I developed a philosophy then: I wanted to test if I was learning something, so if I review my lectures then I did not learn enough up to college I would carry that trait).
4. Broke many hearts.
5. Cursed my teachers at their backs.
6. Fantasized women and their big fronts.
7. Cursed a lot.
8. Felt like a rebel.
9. Didn't conform with the PE uniform (it's so baduy!)
10. Grinned everytime I saw a bouncing boob.
11. Wore gel.
12. Occasionally late, fourth year was the peak (we had to do lots of chores because of this).
13. Faked illness.
14. Faked reason for tardiness.
15. Faked Parent's signature.
16. Questioned authority.

Well that's what I remember right now... Don't worry I'd add something more if I remember tham. haha! Until next time. Chow!

About the Author: Episode Two: The Pupil wars (formative years)

2009-08-29T08:44:00.000-07:00

Epilogue: Why do I enjoy reading? Is it because I enjoyed my father reading me panels of the highly addicting Funny komiks as a child? Yes, comics was my vehicle for studying how to read. I tired real hard just to be able to read one by myself. After my nursery class (which I shared earlier, the class where I became.. Ahem valedictorian), everybody have high expectation for this new child prodigy (if I really was in the first place) And here we start our new chapter.

Story: Like all kids experiencing the trauma of boarding another school, I had to highly impress my new teachers with my in earth charisma. During the first meet and greet session I had to make an impression by exhibiting to them my counting expertise (I was not ahem valedictorian for nothing aren't I?) What traumatized me was when they asked us pupils to dance in front of them (what are we babies?!), I tried my best twisting and turning as far as I could (I'm no dancer as I have two left foot, hehe). Needless to say I marked a good one on the obese teacher that interviewed us. Or maybe because I flashed my killer smile that kept her at awe (haha!).

After I enrolled in the new school, I was a consistent top 1-3 student in every class. It seemed like those days were so fast, I barely remember those days now. One thing I could note though is my teachers then. If my techers weren't obese, they always carry extra baggages in their belly (translation they're pregnant), or they are old misers that are as thin as their bones. (imagine a scene from the twilight zone). One time I had an adviser whom I had for a week only mainly because she was due to deliver the week after...

The old hags you call as teachers are terrible ones they make fun of you, like old hags do (haha). One more thing to note about them is they burry you with lots of homeworks... Sometimes I wanted to shout more in order for them to notice that they have written the entire two blackboards with their crappy homeworks.

Come grade three the pupil wars began. (star wars theme here)

I was highly confident that I'll be at the top of the class when I stepped in. But when I met my would be teachers I couldn't help but be terrified at the same time smile. Smile because I had a teacher whose surname was Militar (English term is Military) and another one surnamed Base (base) so combine them and you have a military base (gasp!). Terrorized because I literally had a terror Teacher her name is P-A-D-I. First glance at her and my tail was cut off. She handled Math. MATH. It was so pain staking it felt like hell during her period. Addition and Subtraction were easy I mastered it from Grade 1 -2 even Kindergarten, but multiplication? subtraction?

She demanded that we mastered the multiplication table from 1 up to 30. She gave the demand Friday and it was to be met by Monday. As Monday came I was praying the whole rosary before her time.. Dear Jesus, Please spare me from the recitation. Amen.

Jesus is ever so considerate, he heard my prayer I "pooped" in my sit maybe out of horror. The stench flowed over the classroom that my seatmates ultimately yelled "Ambaho" (Too stinky).

Padi in shock, shouted at the top of her lungs "To the CR, fast". Me? I couldn't move, out of shame and horror, I knew I would be the talk of the town for the rest of the school year, I just knew I'm screwed.

After the humiliating experience I went straight home, did not attend the following three days and upon my arrival the imminent came. I had my ear screwed by Padi for not memorizing the table. My ear was so red and hurting it felt like it was ran down by a burning iron.

You know what? I pooped the second time in the next weeks... So the humiliation only intensified after then. I had low morale, I felt like having a real lightsaber to stop the pestering kids who taunted me. It was because of that, that I became adamant of my studies often absent in class and it did't help that I had measles at the very end. Good bye top 3... The only thing I could grasp was Top 7 and it wasn't good enough for me.

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Grade four. Saving Grace. I have no classmates who knew the embarrassing moments of my life. I had a fresh start. But was in no condition to compete for top honors yet.

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Grade Five. The Struggle. I am slowly returning to form thanks to my friends Cyril and Ryan back then. I noticed I'm still a cut above the rest, I now re-enjoyed holding a book, reading especially Math and History. Yes math, I love Math in Grade 5. It was then I realized that Padi had the right motivation but wrong instructions.

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Grade Six. Battle Mode. Back to business, Thanks to the two years that passed I was battle ready once more. It was at this point that I gained admirers (some even sent me love notes), which was not really my priority then (but my priority now haha!). At this point I felt the pupil wars was over because I was back at being confident with myself.

Parting Notes:

To my readers, thanks for reading and keep on reading for more as I will be posting some more stuff in days to come. Thanks! May the force be with you.

About the Author: Episode One: The Phantom Kid

2009-08-26T21:10:00.000-07:00

Epilogue: October 25, 1983 at 2:00 at dawn heaven's sent... Adrian Barcia (yours truly!). Martial Law is still in effect. Doctor's who caught me in their arms said: "What's this a Lizard?" (maybe owing to the fact that I was so puny when delivered hehe (If only the late Ernie Baron was alive I could have asked him does the sand man truly exist? I'd ask this because later in life, my mom said that after I was born they found many specks of sand in my eyes).

Story: I'm a happy child. Very happy indeed. I have two pet dogs, my constant companions and great protectors. I just don't know if they do it because of loyalty or because I have some stinky shit over my diaper. What I just can't imagine is what my mother told me that I was forced fed with lizard (it's said to be an old cure for asthma, I'm asthmatic as a kid). I was so sickly that my parents brought me to Roxas Boulevard (now what kids nowadays fondly call Baywalk) to catch some fresh air, There I would sip my "Yakult" and my "Magnolia Fresh Milk" in a bottle (it was bottled then). My body was so sickly even Johnny Midnight's toning water never helped me. My doctor's would punish me by sending a foot long injection needle on my butt (of course you know it's exaggeration but for a boy of 2-3 it don't matter how long, it hurts!).

Not so long after, or a thousand injections later, I learned to fight back, I remember punching a nurse who was getting a blood sample (Early on I should have taken boxing as a sport), I did the same to the kid who tried to grab my paper aeroplane, not only did I punch him he also received a mark for weeks (a black eye).

Here's the incident: The kid has an uncle who obliged to our prodding of making us the paper aeroplane, so a good boy as I was I took 2 new bond papers form my stock. As soon as the first paper aeroplane was finished the other boy took it, And that was when he come to the unfortunate end of tasting my straight jab hehe. I was never violent, but I guess I have a knack of protecting what was mine.

When I turned to school, In nursery I gave my mom the best gift I could give her on the first day. a "zero" on my first examination paper. She was so proud she didn't let me sleep in the afternoon and gave me dozens of lectures and mini-tests to ensure I never have "zero" on an exam again.

But to tell you the truth, it never changed what was to become of me in the end...

A valedictorian (naks! I could hear the winds starting to blow alittle stronger now).

I have so many more to share... Just watch out for the continuation. Until then. May the force be with you.