EpoyzBlog

Boston Creme : A Chapter In My Scattered Autobiography

who's afraid of LeBron James?

i am.

i's a fan of the boy's game from day 1. and i don't give my approval to young, hyped-up players that easily.

it's just that i saw the maturity in his game, the way he never entitled himself when he came in the nba, instead earning all of what he has and what he is right now by showing every fool who doubted: the hype is real.

so i followed the young king's game until he finally got past detroit last year. what happened with the spurs was another story, though. but everybody knew. you can't deny his greatness, and we can only shiver in anticipation at what is to come.

that's why when he took the celtics to a game 7 i was quivering in my wet drawers.

let me state for the record here that i ain't no fair-weather fan: was never really a die-hard celtics guy until KG moved from 'Sota. it's a bonus that i love the game of mistah Shuttlesworth. so when ray allen and KG landed in beantown i pledged my allegiance to the C's. ok? ok.

atlanta took the celtics the full distance, the full schedule of 7 games. young teams sometimes do that, metamorphosing in the playoffs. the Celts blew them away in game 7, and i felt they needed that bump to hone their edge in the coming playoff rounds.

but when LeBron pushed the Celtics near the edge of that game 7 i was quaking in my boots. and he almost single-handedly tipped them over, mind you. he only lost because he tried to do too much,but can you blame him?

 

he needs to recapture the maturity and patience that we saw in him during those early years, and i bet he knows that. i believe in him, but this is the Celtics' time to shine. they're a team, after all. the cavaliers still has a long ways to go, but they'll get there. KG, Paul Pierce and RayRay are all in this freakin' race against father time. and you know at 32 pushing 33 i can fuckin' relate.

this is not yet the king's year, but damn. he's only 23 years old.

ok, so here's the part where i'll get you guys laughing.

i was afraid the king might be able to topple the Celtics all by his damn great self because i knew what was going on in his mind and what he truly believed inside.

that's right. i was lebron james once.

cue the laugh track.

i'm talking about being good like him in 1/100,000,000th scale, of course.

see, once upon a time i ruled our street in 3-on-3 and 4-on 4 basketball. when i was 15-16 years old.

yes. ako ang hari ng mga tambay sa basketbol sa amin.

in that brief period in my life i found a way to  beat everybody in our neighborhood because i believed it, i believed i was better than anybody. it don't even matter, give me any three teammates  and i'll get you the win. that was the year i got my growth spurt, growing 11 inches through my 14th and 15th summer. it was one year after getting turned down from the varsity basketball tryouts at my high school, so i woke up at 530am everyday and worked on my body and my game. the year after when the dudes at the basketball court wouldn't let my skinny-scrawny 14-year old ass play with them. i'd go there at 3pm, an hour ahead of everybody else, when they would then proceed to cut me out of every single game until almost 6 pm, when almost everybody else went home and i'd play in the last available game where the other scrubs like me played.

don't be sad, wipe that tear away.

i got really good the following summer and i absolutely destroyed them all, one by one. i earned their respect, and i really appreciated them doing that to me because going through every one of those humiliating afternoons fueled the fire in me to get really good.

fuckers.

they called me "kangkong" when i was 14. well, you can understand why.

but i got validation when they saw me taking names and someone quipped; " aba, si kangkong, sanga na ngayon..."

and that was sweet. kinda like when alice dixson went in one of her movies : "ang o-od noon ay sa-wa na nga-yon..."

o, ha?

ok, so back to being lebron james... while i was waiting to get my shine on the full court 5-on-5 games, i was ruling our neighborhood on halfcourt games. every afternoon. from 3 to 6pm it was epoy time. haha. pustahan ng ice candy. o piso-piso. i'd be staying out late till 2am, swishing jumper after jumper, refining my stroke for the battles the next day.

and my teams almost always won every series (we'd do best of 3s, or if there was still some daylight left, best-of-5s..).i score in boatloads, i rebounded like a motherfucker and i dished out assists to make my teammates better. i defended the best player from the other team. always. for 2 years on the streets i had that mentality, that it sure don't look very much like it, but i can win whatever the situation was. i swear.

so there ends my lebron james story. ok ba? hehe.

so the pistons managed to give the Celtics their first home loss this postseason. a lot of people are saying that the Cs are done because of their inability to win on the road.

me? i ain't even close to being concerned. i'm more excited than anything. them boys are gonna come around, i'm telling you. like Ray Allen said, who struggled the most in these playoffs: "All the reasons everybody's saying why we will lose will be the reasons why we will win." or something to that effect.

random links to click on:

i'd like to believe this, but i ain't really sure. but it's for three or more pair A YEAR. what's three or more pairs in a month?

it don't really help me a whole lot that these are coming out today. fuck.

this version is alright. mariah's take was also cool, but cook's made this his own, so..

aaaaaaaaand finally....

yes! :)

ok, this is VJ Greg, signing off...

ladies, don't be perplexed by strange behavior from your husbands and boyfriends. it's the nba playoffs. recognize.

-----------------

Restless tonight
Cause I wasted the light
Between both these times
I drew a really thin line
It’s nothing I planned
And not that I can
But you should be mine
Across that line

If I traded it all
If I gave it all away for one thing
Just for one thing
If I sorted it out
If I knew all about this one thing
Wouldn’t that be something

I promise I might
Not walk on by
Maybe next time
But not this time

Even though I know
I don’t want to know
Yeah I guess I know
I just hate how it sounds

 

If I traded it all
If I gave it all away for one thing
Just for one thing
If I sorted it out
If I knew all about this one thing
Wouldn’t that be something..

              - "One Thing", Finger Eleven from Them Vs You Vs Me

Propheteering

I've been down and
I'm wondering why
These little black clouds
Keep walking around
With me
With me

It wastes time
And I'd rather be high
Think I'll walk me outside
And buy a rainbow smile
But be free
They're all free

So maybe tomorrow
I'll find my way home
So maybe tomorrow
I'll find my way home

I look around at a beautiful life
Been the upperside of down
Been the inside of out
But we breathe
We breathe

I wanna breeze in an open mind
I wanna swim in the ocean
Wanna take my time for me
All me

So maybe tomorrow
I'll find my way home
So maybe tomorrow
I'll find my way home..

              -"Maybe Tomorrow", Stereophonics from You Gotta Go There To Come Back / Crash OST

----------

breathing heavily, writhing in agonized ecstacy like marisa tomei in the opening scene of 'Before The Devil Knows You're Dead', teased unmercifully with all that is so painfully near but are yet to come, i toss and turn violently in my bed as i wait for all i've been enticed with since the previous year..

yes, kids, we're mere months away from when Iron Man (may) and The Dark Knight (july) comes out, and the wait has been painfully orgasmic. well, at least for me. maarte ako, e. And you know how these two are my favorite superheroes, as i've written about them before. bakit nga febrit mo (ika nga ng pamangkin ko..)? eh kasi, wala silang superpowers. you see, children, human ambition, intelligence and fortitude go a very long way if you want to play the superhero game..along with billions of dollars, of course.

hold up, hold up... going back a bit to the film i referenced at the start of this post.. excuse me, but marisa tomei is already 43 years old? i mean, Day-uhm.. i still look at her the same way when i first saw her in 'Only You' back in the day. she be one of my 'forever crushes', man, along with nicole kidman and charlize theron and jennifer connely and jennifer aniston and j-lo and phoebe cates and kate beckinsale and kate hudson (and goldie hawn and jodie foster and meryl streep when they were young and still struttin' their stuff, hey!!) and them...marisa gon' always be  hot, ahmey-go. say what?

ok, so back to Iron Man and The Dark Knight...this year's gonna be awesome for superhero movies, with The Incredible Hulk also coming out after these two..i also heard they're doing a G.I. Joe movie, and a Justice League project is under way. ya-hoooo...

Man, when i saw the trailer for Iron Man, i almost shat my pants... with him blasting out of that terrorist camp in the Mark 1 armor, with that single electric guitar blaring.. ouch.. then finishing it with the garbled "..I..Am..I-Ron Man.." feed in the end..woo-hoo, that was awesome... after that they followed it up with a longer trailer showing the Mark 2 and 3 armor flyin' and playin' around with jets and blasting tanks and shit while Audioslave's "Cochise" is playin'...i went and smacked my fingers with my lips and said "...mmmmmwaahh!!! stewed to a perfection!!"..that trailer was a face-melter, i'm tellin' you.

 

the The Dark Night trailer (eh?) is a bit more subdued and far less "in-your-freakin'-face", but conveys the mood of the upcoming flick nonetheless. saka iba yung musical score, pero maganda pa rin.

R.I.P., mr. Heath Ledger. sayang din si papa Heath.tsk. naalala ko tuloy si brandon lee. pareho pa mukha nila sa The Crow saka dito sa The Dark Knight..

so. hintay-hintay tayo. mabilis na lang ang May. april na bukas. ngayon pala. olrayt. magpapasko na naman.

happy april fools' day, suckaz. april fools. hehe..

ok, let's throw out one crazy though out there in lieu of that shit.. if i was jun lozada i'd be doubly afraid of the fuckers from the opposition than the fuckers from the government.. the opposition has been trying to spur on the people to go apeshit and people power the fuck out of the administration. with the much-ballyhooed failed attempt on his life at the naia, kahit annoying si jun lozada sa madaming pinoy e maraming kumakampi sa kanya. now, with this nbn-zte crapfest cooling down a bit (kahit kumulo na naman dahil sa punyetang supreme court ruling na yan kay neri.. what the fuck is that? pokpok na talaga lahat ng nasa gobyerno..), baka maisip ng oposisyon na tirahin itong si lozada, ibintang sa administrasyon at mag wish-ko-lang na magwala na talaga ang sambayanan. di gagana yun, pero baka subukan na din. lagi namang palpak yang mga gagong yan, e. hehe.

kung ako si jun lozada, kukunin kong bodyguard si kevin costner. in--daaaay... will always love you...

i just learned that madame cory aquino has colon cancer. bad trip. pero sa analysis ni sir conrad, baka ito ang mas makapukaw sa damdamin ng pilipino. tingnan natin.

this never fails, no? while at the airport terminal waiting for immigration to clear my ass for boarding, an airline employee was frantically darting around calling out at the several backlogged long lines of passengers,going "..cebu pacific flight going to macau? cebu pacific flight going to macau?!"...siguro aalis na kaya pauunahin na nga yung papuntang macau kasi backed-up na yung linya... siyempre may ale na tinawag yung nag-iikot, sabay sabi ng --'shanghai?'. siyempre yung mukha ng nagtatawag, eh, for lack of a better word..priceless.. with the subtle roll of his eyeballs i saw how badly he wanted to shout out: MACAU NGA E!!! MACAU!! TAANG-INA NAMAN E..

ok. happy april fools' day uli. sana makautang nang malaki ang pilipinas sa araw na ito.

------------

I'm not a martyr
I'm not a prophet
And I won't preach to you
But here's a caution
You better understand
That I won't hold your hand
But if it helps you mend
Then I won't stop it

                    -"Cochise", Audioslave from Audioslave

For Patrick

in pain and loss;
through memories and regret;
of mistakes and atonement.

for grief and for hope.


--

The Trapeze Swinger
Iron And Wine

Please, remember me
Happily
By the rosebush laughing
With bruises on my chin
The time when
We counted every black car passing
Your house beneath the hill
And up until
Someone caught us in the kitchen
With maps, a mountain range
A piggy bank
A vision too removed to mention
But

Please, remember me
Fondly
I heard from someone you're still pretty
And then
They went on to say
That the pearly gates
Had some eloquent graffiti
Like "We'll meet again"
And "Fuck the man"
And "Tell my mother not to worry"
And angels with their great
Handshakes
Were always done in such a hurry
And

Please, remember me
At Halloween
Making fools of all the neighbors
Our faces painted white
By midnight
We'd forgotten one another
And when the morning came
I was ashamed
Only now it seems so silly
That season left the world
And then returned
And now you're lit up by the city
So

Please, remember me
Mistakenly
In the window of the tallest tower
Calling passers-by
But much too high
To see the empty road at happy hour
Gleam and resonate
Just like the gates
Around the holy kingdom
With words like "Lost and found"
And "Don't look down"
And "Someone save Temptation"
And

Please, remember me
As in the dream
We had as rug-burned babies
Among the fallen trees
And fast asleep
Beside the lions and the ladies
That called you what you like
And even might
Give a gift for your behavior
A fleeting chance to see
A trapeze
Swing as high as any savior
But

Please, remember me
My misery
And how it lost me all I wanted
Those dogs that love the rain
And chasing trains
The colored birds above there running
In circles around the well
And where it spells
On the wall behind St. Peter
So bright with cinder grey
And spray paint
"Who the hell can see forever?"
And

Please, remember me
Seldomly
In the car behind the carnival
My hand between your knees
You turned from me
And said, "The trapeze act was wonderful
But never meant to last"
The clowns that passed
Saw me just come up with anger
When it filled with circus dogs
The parking lot
Had an element of danger
So

Please, remember me
Finally
And all my uphill clawing
My dear
But if I make
The pearly gates
Do my best to make a drawing
Of God and Lucifer
A boy and girl
An angel kissing on a sinner
A monkey and a man
A marching band
All around the frightened trapeze swinger.

Culpability, Kupalbility

sa gitna ng lahat ng kaggagguhang nangyayari sa bansa natin ngayon, (tama yun, dalawang double-g, itinaas ko pa ang level ng kagaguhang ginagawa natin sa sarili natin para mas malutong...) isa sa pinakamalaking dahilan kung bakit patuloy tayong nagpapakan-... teka, masyadong masakit at bulgar pag tinagalog...

---a big reason why we're still allowing these evil people to sodomize us in our collective asses is this---

takot tayo masyado magmukhang tanga para magsalita.

ok, let's agree on one thing first, ok? pagdating sa bagay na 'to, there are no ifs and buts about it: ANG TANGA NATING LAHAT.

ok? ok.

we're all equally culpable for everything that has happened because we slept on it. ninanakawan na tayo nang harap-harapan at ilang beses na tayong nagsususpetsa e pinabayaan pa rin nating maglipana itong mga walang kaluluwang mga 'to.

to summarize: bago mag-umpisa ang termino ni GMA, 2 trillion pesos na ang utang ng pilipinas, mula kay cory, eddie at erap combined, dahil nga nakan-- yeah, yeah, we got sodomized in our collective asses--- by apo marcos.

nung nagsulat ako last year sa blog ko e 4 trillion pesos na yun. 4 million-million pesos. you do the math. sa ikli ng 'paninilbihan' ni GMA; yes, your precious GMA; nadoble ang utang ng pilipinas mula 1986. from 2002 to 2008? 2 trillion?

2 MILLION-MILLION PESOS?

ako e hindi nakapagbayad ng buo sa credit card bill ko, 100,000 pesos yung natira. pagdating ng sunod na bill, nagbayad ako ng 3,500 na interes.

3,500. sa isang buwan. isang buwang kuryente, o isang buwang gatas ng sanggol. i'm sure naiintindihan ako ng mga kababayan nating nagpapakahirap magbayad ng utility bills o nagtatrabaho para sa mga anak nila kung ano ang katumbas ng 3,500 pesos sa isang buwan na interes dahil di ako nakabayad ng buong bill sa citibank.

paano nga kino-compute ang interes pag 4 trillion pesos ang utang mo?

huy, ang utang ng pilipinas, e utang nating lahat, ha? tayo ang nagbabayad nun. yun yung 12% na VAT tuwing kumakain ka sa labas, o nagpapagasolina ka, o bumibili ka ng mga rekutitos mo sa araw-araw mong pamumuhay sa pilipinas. di mo matatakasan yung pagbabayad nun, kasi mga anak at mga apo naman natin magbabayad nun sa habampanahon, hanggang uso pa ang pera.

sige nga, paki-compute naman, o, gusto ko talagang malaman kung paano nagko-compound ang interes 'nun. paki-email ako sa epoyz2men@yahoo.com o decado@sbcglobal.net.

ayan. naiintindihan nyo na kung bakit ang tanga natin? inalis natin nun si erap, at bago yun si marcos, dahil ninanakawan tayo... tapos, ang ipinalit natin, e mas malufet na magnanakaw pa pala. nasan kamo ang proof ko?

yan naman, mas malaking tanga ka pa talaga sa 'kin kung yan ang ibabalik mo sa king tanong. please. stop embarassing yourself.

so ayan, ha? nagkasundo na tayo. lahat tayo, bar none, walang exemption, walang saling ket-ket, tanga tayong lahat pagdating sa usapang problema ng pilipinas. puta, tatanggi ka pa, e wala ka namang ginagawa para magbantay sa kaban (o sakong butas) ng bayan.

so no amount of debating or gesticulating or claiming to be smarter than the next person can absolve you of your accountability. ako nga, ang dahilan ko, wala kasi akong alam at interes jan sa politika. pero di pa rin ako lusot. hindi komo tatanga-tanga ako sa bagay na yan e wala na akong responsibilidad sa mga magiging anak ko.

e ayan na nga, puta, nagkahulihan na, ayan na lahat ng ebidensya, hindi lang ito the proverbial 'when there's smoke, there's fire' na kagaguhan...'when there's fire, there's fire' na 'to, huy!! may whistle-blower na nga o, tangina naman, di pa tayo natatauhan? ano pa ba ang dapat mangyari?

to summarize uli:

sa unang part ng post na itech, 4 trillion pesos pa lang ang pinag-uusapan natin. ngayon, nadagdagan ng 329 million DOLLARS. ay puta nakalimutan ko pa yung sa fertilizer scam saka yung computerized polling system scam. magkano na nga lahat yun? saka na nga lang natin kwentahin yun pag babayaran na natin. paki-email po ako ng computation,ha?

ha?

ang di ko maintindihan e bakit nawawala pa rin natin ang focus. puta, andaming dahilan. ngayon ang dahilan natin e si jun lozada.

nung nakikinig ako ng speech niya sa radyo, at aaminin ko sa inyo, di ko alam ang itsura nitong tao na 'to, di ko rin siya kilala masyado at kung ano ang istorya nya. wala akong cable mula january dahil kalilipat ko lang sa isang liblib na lugar sa EDSA cor. Quezon Avenue. nagbabasa lang ako ng diyaryo habang traffic, yung mga headline sa mga naglalako. konting news sa internet, yun na yun. so di ko alam ang buong istorya, hokey? ang alam ko lang, may star witness sa nakawan sa pilipinas. para bang si chavit noon.

wala akong pakialam kung nanggugulo ba siya, o nagpapagamit siya sa oposisyon, o kung tumanggap ba siya ng pera o kung ano man ang dahilan para mainis tayo sa kanya. di lang mangilan-ngilang beses ko naririnig na asar sila kay jun lozada, kahit di sila pro-GMA, ha, kasi para nga daw masyado magpaawa-effect.

narinig ko ang speech niya sa AM radio nung friday, sabi ko, oonga, masyado namang magpaawa 'tong tao na to. pinagtangkaan lang naman siyang patayin sa airport saka binuking mga involvement nya sa lagayan at mga kabit nya in-expose, e, akala mo kung sino nang inaapi...

pero nilagpasan ko ang pagkainis ko sa style nya at narinig ko din yung isang sinabi niya. di ko pa alam syempre kung totoo, pero kinilabutan ako habang nagda-drive pauwi. ayon kay lozada, last year ang inutang daw ng gobyerno para sa mga proyektong gaya niyang zte-nbn e 1.8 BILLION DOLLARS. ang ichinuchuchu niya daw e 329 MILLION DOLLARS lang.

PATAY NA NAMAN TAYO JAN!!!

magkano uli ang interes ng 329 million dollars kada buwan?

so eto na naman tayo. may star witness. may whistle-blower mula sa loob. may tumetestigo na opo, ninanakawan tayo. merong witness. may nakawan, may witness. may nakawan, may witness. may nakawan, may witness.

may nakawan, may witness.

 

para sa iba sa 'tin, si jun lozada ay isang bayani. sa iba sa'tin, nanggugulo lang daw siya at nagpapaawa. siguro daw gumaganti at may di nakuha. parang si chavit noon. sabi ng ibang mga kaibigan ko, mukhang tanga siya at mukhang nagpapaawa at naggugulo lang...

ha?

may nakawan, may witness. huy.

wala akong pakialam kung ano ang motibo ni jun lozada sa ngayon, o kung ano man ang nagtulak sa kanya para tumestigo laban sa mga magnanakaw. kung kasingsama siya ng mga taong isinusumbong niya, wala na kong pakialam dun. i don't give a flying fuck.

pero di ba totoo naman ang isinusumbong niya? ano ang malabo dun? e si GMA nga mismo umamin na tungkol dun sa kontrata, e. naman.

Ha-Ler, Garci. Ha-Le-er?

eto naman ang isa pang ibabato sa 'kin, kahit ng mga kababayan nating anti-GMA...

sige, kung totoo nga ang sinasabi ni jun lozada, at totoo ngang ninakawan tayo, at kailangan parusahan ang mga may sala at mag-resign si GMA, ano na ang gagawin natin? sino ang ipapalit natin? at agresibo pa sila itanong yan, ha? na parang ang tanga mo naman para i-suggest na ibakante ang poste ng presidente, na di tayo mabubuhay nang di si tita glow ang nakaluklok sa pwesto.

ha?

so mas ok sa 'yo na hintayin hanggang 2010 yung kasalukuyang nakaupo, kasi "matatapos na din naman term 'nyan, e, wag na nating guluhin ang takbo ng pilipinas...ok na naman, e..."

HA?

magkano uli ang interes ng 2 trillion pesos (nung ibinenta tayo sa mga amerikano) plus 329 million dollars saka 1.471 billion dollars (nung ibinenta naman tayo sa mga intsik) sa isang buwan? e sa 24 months? yun e kung ia-assume natin na wala nang moves na gagawin itong si gloria para di siya bumaba sa 2010, ha? chachacha.

e bakit natin pagtatalunan agad yung isang problema,e may isang problema na dito na kailangan ang buong atensyon natin? kaya nga divided pa rin ang bansa, e, kasi sa mga ganyang banat.

kagabi e kumakain akong kasama ang ibang mga pinakamalalapit kong kaibigan, at napunta ang usapan kay jun lozada. walo kami sa lamesa. dalawa sa amin ang nagbigay ng opinyon nila kay jun lozada. nagpapaawa daw, masama din daw na tao, nagpapagamit lang sa oposisyon, nanggugulo, etchetchetch. at siyempre, the inevitable "e kung magre-resign si gma, sino naman ang ipapalit mo? aalis na rin naman yan sa 2010, e."

ang nakakahiya dun, e yumuko lang ako. di ko rin alam, ano ba, ayaw ko bang saktan ang damdamin ng mga kaibigan ko, o ayaw ko lang ng komprontasyon dahil ang sarap ng kain ko ng lechong kawali, o sa isip ko wala din namang mararating kung mag-debate kami dun... pero alam ko, anim kami, dalawa lang sila, alam kong kontra kaming anim sa sinabi nila. pero wala sa aming pumengol. let's move on with our dinner, shall we? saka to be honest, wala din naman akong konkretong sagot kung ok nga talaga si jun lozada, e, di ko pa nga siya nakikita. o kung sino man ang ipapalit ko pag bumaba si glorya. magastos din at magulo ang snap election. wala din namang kasiguruhan na ang susunod na presidente e hahanguin tayo sa lusak. for some reason e ayaw talaga nila kay kabayan. ako din naman e.

nakakahiya man aminin sa inyo, sa inyong limang nagbabasa ng blog ko, natakot akong magmukhang tanga sa harap ng pito kong kaibigan, and i chose to 'move on'...yun nga lang, nahirapan akong makatulog kagabi.

pero ito nga ang problema ko. yung sangkatutak na utang natin, sino na ang magbabayad? sigurado mararamdaman pa rin ng mga kaapu-apuhan ko yan. ang di ko lang mapaniwalaan, e yung dalawang kaibigan namin na naiirita sa zte issue, e may mga maliliit na mga anak. ako nga na wala pang pamilya, galit na galit na ko sa perang ninanakaw sa kin, perang naka-disguise as VAT o E-VAT on top ng income tax ko. e di ba, kumain kami ng worth 200 pesos kada tao kagabi, 24 pesos nun deretso sa gobyerno, 24 pesos na di mo na makikitang muli kasi na kay abalos na? bawat galaw mo at hugot ng pitaka, para na rin nilang kinukuhanan ng pagkain yung anak mo? nagtataka lang ako kung bakit mas galit pa ko sa kanila, e ipangbibili ko lang ng air jordan 23 sana yung mga tax na ninanakaw sa 'kin. yung ninanakaw sa kanila e para sa mga anak nila 'yun.

eto ang nakikita ko jan: may mga magnanakaw, may pumengol, may tumetestigo laban sa mga magnanakaw, so dapat kailangan nating parusahan. di ba yun muna ang dapat tumigil? yun muna ang dapat pag-isipan? saka na yung ibang problema.

kunwari nasa giyera ka, nasabugan ka ng granada, putol ang paa mo, habang nagpuputukan ba sa paligid mo e poproblemahin mo pa kung makakalaro ka pa uli ng basketball dahil putol na nga ang paa mo? di ba gusto mo muna maka-survive, kailangan mo munang pigilin ang pagdudugo ng naputol mong paa kasi mamamatay ka pag naubusan ka ng dugo, at di mo na makikita uli ang mga mahal mo sa buhay pag todas ka na? you try to get through the day, then feel sorry for yourself later. ito munang problema sa harap mo ang atupagin mo.

wala akong pakialam sa character ni jun lozada. sa lahat ng indikasyon, mukhang nagsasabi naman siya ng totoo tungkol sa nakawan. o, e di ipakulong natin lahat ng involved. pagkatapos nun e di imbestigahan natin at kamkamin natin lahat ng pera nila na di nila maipaliwanag kung paano nila nakuha. hey, ganun din ang ginagawa nila sa 'tin, di ba? ganun ginawa nila sa character ni denzel washington sa american gangster. kaya nga nila iniimbestigahan kung nagbabayad ng tamang buwis si judy ann santos at richard gomez, e, kasi pag napatunayang shini-shortchange nila ang gobyerno, ang laki ng pananagutan nila. di ba ganun din dapat kina abalos, FGA, mikey at kung sinu-sino pang mandarambong na dumale sa 'tin? di ko nga maintindihan kung paano nakalusot sa plunder case si erap, e. sana kahit papaano ilang milyon din ang nabawi natin sa kanya.

si GMA? kailangan talaga siyang bumaba, kasi di natin magagawa nang maayos yung imbestigasyon habang siya ang pinakamakapangyarihang tao sa bansa natin ngayon.

but again, sino ang ipapalit natin?

sa NBA, pag palpak ang head coach mo, at ang buong season mo ay pretty much down the drain, tinatanggal siya at pinapalitan muna ng "interim coach", usually e assistant coach niya (na di naman kasingtunog ang pangalan, kasi nga assistant lang, e.). yung ipinalit na coach, e hindi inaasahang magsasagawa ng milagro at mapapa-champion yung team, kasi nga pumalpak na yung naunang coach, e. pansamantala muna siya, habang naghahanap ng mas ok na ipapalit, at inaayos ng management lahat ng mga gusot.

tayo ang management, ang mga anak natin ang players, yung assistant coach ng team pilipinas e si noli de castro. wala, e, tayo din naglagay sa kanya jan. pero, interim president nga lang muna siya.

ang di maintindihan ng mga pilipino, e  hindi si noli de castro ang magging presidente. TAYONG LAHAT ang magiging presidente. tingin mo, makakaporma pa si noli de castro ng kapalpakan at katiwalian e nakatutok na nga tayo? ang hirap sa 'tin, ang hinahanap nating kapalit e yung tipong ilalagay natin sa pwesto tapos tutulugan na natin, ayos na yan, siya na bahala jan. ano, nangangarap ba tayong maging 1st world country agad kaya di tayo makapamili ng ipapalit natin sa ulupong na presidente natin? repair mode muna tayo, at habang nagre-repair tayo, bantay-bantay na lang. di talaga kaya ni kabayan yan.

o, tapos paano na ang ipapalit kay noli? sigurado andaming manggugulo, andaming kakandidato, may circus na naman. dapat lang, wag nating tanggapin yan kalokohang yan. dapat dalawa lang ang pagpipilian natin. paano natin gagawin yun,e wala naman tayong party system? ang political landscape dito sa pilipinas e parang WWE, yung mga bida nagiging kalaban, yung kalaban nagiging bida. yung akala mo matitino dati e may topak pala pag nagugutom na sa kapangyarihan, o pag nabibigyan na ng pera. tingnan nyo si joker arroyo.

ang katotohanan niyan, e di ko alam ang kasagutan jan. aba, kung ako lang ang aasahan nyo, wala talagang mangyayari sa pilipinas. pero madaming matatalino dito, i'm pretty sure may magbibigay ng ideya na mapagkakasunduan nating lahat, anything but the present administration, ika nga.

kasi, ako, (e ako na nga ito,ha?) on top of my head, may naiisip na ko. pwede sa 'kin lahat ng pilipino kumandidato, tapos salain natin hanggang maging dalawa na lang silang matitira. gumagana nga sa philippine idol at starstruck yang botohan thru text at internet, e, at least mararamdaman na natin agad kung sino napipisil ng sambayanang pilipino. paano masisigurado ang accuracy at integrity ng ganitong system? di pa naman tayo nagbobotohan e. at least, kukunin lang natin yung feel ng pinoy. saan natin kukunin ang pondo? e di bawiin nga natin pera nina abalos at FGA pag nanalo tayo sa imbestigasyon, basta mapatunayang may sala sila. kaya na ng mga abogado ng pilipinas yun, wala naman tayong shortage niyan.dun pa lang madami na tayong magagawa. maraming pera ang pilipinas, puta andami na ngang ninakaw sa 'tin e, may pera pa tayo para sa survey.

o, e di let's say, lahat ng ng pilipino qualified, tingin mo kaya sa ganito ka-wide open na botohan o survey e gagastusan ni erap ang sarili niya para makakuha siya ng online and text votes? kung survey nga yan na di lang anim na kandidato na may makinarya ang kasali, sa elimination process mahihirapan sila pakialaman ng pera at impluwensiya nila. masyadong risky, di sigurado kung mamumuhunan ka, kahit na ba kasingyaman mo si pacquiao.

saka ang comelec ba, credible? naman.

saka tingnan nyo, nung huling eleksyon, nanalo si trillanes against all odds. may boses pa rin ang pinoy, B. kahit tinutuya si trillanes ngayon, pruweba pa rin siya na may lugar pa rin ang unpopular vote. kaya nanalo yan, may mga bumoto jan. so kung gusto nyo talaga maging presidente e si sam milby, kung mananaig siya sa survey, magiging legitimate contender siya.

at sakasaka, don't forget, hindi official itong survey na 'to. at least nga malaman lang natin ang pakiramdam ng bayan. ganito yan... first round of voting 2 weeks. kunin natin ang top 100. botohan uli tayong lahat from among the top 100, kunin natin ang top 20 after 2 weeks. after 2 weeks uli, top 10, dun uli tayo pipili ng top 5. ayan, lumilinaw na. by this time, medyo naayos na natin ang sistema, pero take note, survey pa rin 'to, ha. at least may say pa rin karamihan ng pinoy. sa big brother nga interesado tayo, e, gagana yan... ok so galing sa top 5, seryoso nang botohan, kuha tayo ng top 3. tapos pakakantahin natin sila.

joke lang.

sa top three, makukuha na natin yung dalawang napipisil ng pilipinas. wala pang dalawang buwan yun. o tapos kampanya ng 6 months yung dalawa, official snap elections na galing sa talagang napipisil ng mga tao na mamuno sa bansa. o e di wala nang magulo? in 8 months may bago na tayong presidente. gusto nyo ang matalo automatic na vice president na, e. at least alam natin pag pumaplpak na naman yung isa, yung kapalit e ibinoto din ng nakararami sa tin, hindi diluted vote. at least, kahit nag-umpisa sa american idol style na botohan, mas maganda pa rin kesa guluhin tayo ng magugulo at mapanglitong makinarya ng mga trapo. kung mangibabaw na huling dalawang pilipino e, let's say, si boy abunda at si sonny belmonte, sila talaga ang sigaw ng bayan, di ba? o e di hindi na ganun kagulo yun. mamili ka kay tito boy o kay belmonte kung sino mas type mo.

wag nyo seryosohin yung sinasabi ko, yan ay isa lang naman idea. i'm sure kaya mag-isip ng mga matatalinong kababayan natin ng magandang solusyon.
ang sinasabi ko lang, willing akong i-expose ang sarili ko para sabihin nyong tanga ako sa mga pinagsasasabi ko. pero yun nga, di na ko matatakot magmukhang tanga dahil gusto kong ilabas ang opinyon ko. may mga matatalino tayong mga kababayan na makakaisip ng paraan para mas tama na ang mga gagawin natin pag naayos natin ang gusot na 'to. dapat tumigil na ang kalokohang 'to, dapat magising na tayo. magkaisa naman tayo, mga chong, at least sa adhikain munang managot ang mga maysala sa paggahasa ng bayan natin. maayos natin itong nakawan na 'to, matanggal natin ang tiwaling administrasyon ngayon, unti-unti din nating malulutas yung mga political killings na naitatago nila dahil sila ang nasa puwesto ng kapangyarihan. masubukan man lang mabawi ang mga ninakaw sa 'tin, magagamit natin yun kahit papaano para ayusin ang bayan na iiwanan natin sa mga anak natin.  kasi kung di natin inayos ngayon 'yan, wala tayong ipinagkaiba kina abalos, FGA at GMA: ninanakawan lang natin ang bansa natin ng kung anong makukuha natin para sa mga sarili natin ngayon, bahala na magdusa ang susunod na administrasyon, or in this case, mga anak natin.

davah?

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”

                -Barack Obama

ang taray.

Readying to bury your father and your mother,
what did you think when you lost another?
I used to wonder why did you bother,
distanced from one, blind to the other.

Listen here my sister and my brother
what would you care if you lost the other?
I always wonder why did we bother,
distanced from one, blind to the other.

but sweetness follows

It's these little things, they can pull you under.
Live your life filled with joy and wonder.
I always knew this altogether
was lost in our little lives.

but sweetness follows.
but sweetness follows.

It's these little things, they can pull you under.
Live your life filled with joy and thunder.
Yeah, yeah we were altogether
lost in our little lives.



but sweetness follows.
but sweetness follows.

                    -"Sweetness Follows", R.E.M. from Automatic For The People

23

"..Just like a hooker she said
    Nothin's for free
    Oh, i tried to see it your way..

    I tried to see it your way.."

                    - "14 Years", Guns N' Roses, Use Your Illusion II

last january 26, me and my brother trooped to nike park at bonifacio highstreet for a chance to purchase a pair of these:

that, folks, is the ultra-limited jordan xxiii titanium edition, the very first colorway to be released of quite possibly the last numbered pair in the air jordan line of shoes.

these shoes look great actually, plus the north carolina theme always give jordan shoes that kick. i wasn't too hot about the weave pattern, though. could've been better. still, this is a tinker hatfield joint, plus jordan brand keeps stepping up their game year after year, at the very least on the technological aspect of shoe design. i love the outsole, which is patterned after MJ's thumbprint, plus the midsole and shoe upper go well together. technically-sound, and it looks like hot shit.

here's the complete rundown on the technical wachoochoo of the jordan 23 on NikeTalk. if you get easily bored with this stuff, just skip it.:

AIR JORDAN XX3 Technical Components

Nike Considered:
• AIR JORDAN XX3 is the first basketball shoe in Nike's history to be designed according to Nike Considered ethos.
• The design of the AIR JORDAN XX3 minimizes waste and use of solvent based cements.
• Automotive quality painting process on the backside of the Thermo Plastic Urethane (TPU) chassis is completed by an efficient robot arm to maximize the quality, consistency and durability of the paint and component.
• Outsole uses environmentally preferred rubber that reduces toxics and incorporates Nike Grind material from footwear outsole manufacturing waste.
• The construction of the shoe emphasizes the use of environmentally preferred materials.
Upper:
• A newly engineered, patent-pending, stitching machine stitches the upper in 3-D form.
• Dual density sock liner.
• Internal dual density slow recovery foam around the heel conforms to foot shapes to create a more custom fit.
• One shot compression molded phylon midsole.
• Full length sleek internal bootie maximizes comfort while complimenting the sleek profile.
• Nu-foam collar/tongue lining package for sleek low profile comfort.
• New quilted pattern molded sock liner that provides quality arch support.provides quality arch support.
• Reinforced quarter panels to form and hold the exact shape of the last to provide the best fit possible.
• Breathable tongue allows air to escape helping to keep the foot cooler.
• The upper is bladder pressed on the last two times during the construction to form the upper shape exactly to the last shape.

Midsole / Outsole:
• Full length Zoom Airsole unit for superior cushioning.
• Carbon fiber/acrylic weave shank plate adds structure and support in key areas.
• High performance TPU chassis built for stability and support.
• Light weight - 15 ounces.
• One of the lowest midsole profile thickness made for a basketball shoe (19mms in the heel and 9mms in the forefoot) allowing for players to be as close to the ground as possible and feel the court.
• The shank plate is inserted into the TPU chassis mold and the TPU is directly shot over the entire plate. This process is the most efficient for production because it enhances durability, reduces waste, and minimizes our solvent cement usage. It is a new innovation for performance footwear.
• Advanced cushioning system contains a low profile IPS system with a large pillar in the heel combined with a low profile modified IPS in the forefoot.

AIR JORDAN XX3 Unique Design Features:
• An imprint of Michael Jordan's finger print traction pattern on outsole.
• Precise stitching to reveal external heel moccasin stitch.
• Michael Jordan signature on toe cap.
• High performance TPU chassis.
• Michael Jordan thumbprint on back of tongue lining.
• Handcrafted MJ stitch pattern offers beautiful detailing and function.

click this link to see the summary post of the jordan xxii circus on NikeTalk. them lowtop joints are ugly.

so.

there were only 529 pairs released in the US, and another 529 for the rest of the world.

thaaaaaat's right. you can imagine the hype created by this.

the right to purchase one of these babies (for $230 dollars in the states, PhP14995 here) were raffled off two saturdays ago.

with only two pairs of size 11s available here in the philippines, and only me and my brother filling a raffle stub (two shots against some clever dudes who brought along their wife and kids and drivers and maids to boost their chances by having more entries..bastards..), it was no surprise that i ended up empty-handed at the end of all the buying hoopla.

well, i thought, at least i had a shot at it, unlike some of my sneakerhead brothers in say, cebu, or davao, who never even had a chance to come within sniffing distance of these.

besides, i kinda felt good then that i wouldn't have to shell out 15grand for a pair of shoes. i've been cutting back on the shoe-buying the last couple of months, and have been quite selective of what i'm going to add to my shoe collection.

that good feeling went to the crapper when i checked out how much these are selling on ebay.

this guy sold his size 11s for $1367.00. damn.

this one is being offered for $2,323.00... a lot of people are holding out now, but i believe this will be sold soon, especially now that availability is dwindling.

this pair got sold for $1,525.00. huhuhuhu...

and these size 11s are up for $3,500.00, puppies not included. pak-dat.

would've been nice to have gotten them for 15k, for the value to skyrocket to as much as 100k, then for some diehard sneakerheads see you ballin' in them on some court outdoors.. the look on their mugs would be priceless, no? tapos itapak mo sa babolgam bago ka sumabit sa jeep pauwi... baka kuyugin ka ng mga 'yun at ombagin.

guess i'm gonna have to wait for the next colorway, set to be released on all-star weekend, with the price set at $185.00:

but i ain't really feelin' these... i'm gonna have to see them in person. o pag naatat ako, baka bilhin ko.. but this colorway here, i'm definitely coppin' these:

these joints are dope.

and you just know i'm going to keep my eyes peeled for the second coming of these:

"...but epoy, andami mo nang shoes, bakit bili ka pa ng bili? masusuot mo ba lahat yan?"... i'll try to break down my disease for you in the next post. ayt? ayt.

good evening. i'm epoy, and i'm a sneaker addict.

-----------------------

Memories are just where you laid them
Drag the waters ’till the depths give up their dead
What did you expect to find?
Was there something you left behind?
Don’t you remember anything I said when I said

Don’t fall away, and leave me to myself
Don’t fall away and leave love bleeding
In my hands, in my hands again
Leave love bleeding
In my hands, in my hands
Love lies bleeding

Oh hold me now I feel contagious
Am I the only place that you’ve left to go
She cries her life is like
Some movie black and white
Dead actors faking lines
Over and over and over again she cries

Don’t fall away, and leave me to myself
Dont fall away, and leave love bleeding
In my hands, in my hands again
Leave love bleeding
In my hands, in my hands
Love lies bleeding

And I wanted
You turned away
You don’t remember, but I do
You never even tried

Don’t fall away and leave me to myself
Don’t fall away and leave love bleeding
In my hands, in my hands again
Leave love bleeding
In my hands, in my hands
Love lies bleeding

                    -"Hemorrhage", Fuel from Something Like Human

Usher

so this is love
in the end of december
quiet nights
quiet stars
and i'm here
monday to sunday
cause you're fragile
and i'm weak

so you fall
when the nights grow longer
into sleep
and won't wake up

and i'm here
i'm sitting beside you
and i'll wait until the spring

don't you worry
i'll be there for you
don't worry about me
you know me better than that
don't you worry
i'll be there for you
i'll catch you if you would fall

so you drift
when the days grow colder
away from me
and won't look back
far away
and i can't guide you
but i'm here
until the spring

don't you worry
i'll be there for you
don't worry about me
you know me better than that
don't you worry
i'll be there for you
i'll catch you if you would fall

don't you worry
i'll be there for you
don't worry about me
you know me better than that
don't you worry
i'll be there for you
i'll catch you if you would fall

i'll catch you if you would fall..

                    -"Love In December", Club 8 from Club 8 / One Tree Hill Soundtrack

the new year is upon us, people... time to start thinkin' about being less of an ass for the coming year, or at least being able to suppress that Bitch DNA molecule...

some of the things that i need to let fly out there... these are my confessions...(ahh..)

1. fartlock. yes, i have it. whenever i try to pee in a public restroom, when there are dudes right next to the stalls beside me and ESPECIALLY when there's someone behind me waiting for his turn, somehow my willy won't release that first trickle UNLESS i let out my fartlock.

and this fartlock ain't that simple to deal with. either you let it out fast but with maximum noise and attention, or you release it as a silent assassin, quickly rendering  the bloke behind you unconscious.

someone out there please reassure me that i'm not the only one with this problem.

i heard some people have trouble peeing when other people are with them in a public restroom. my problem is a bit more complicated. seems i have to risk embarrassing myself every damn time i have to go no. 1 publicly.

imagine doing it in a hotel comfort room, where the only guy with you in there is a hotel employee waiting to give you a hot towel or a paper towel after you relieve yourself, fiending for a tip. either he hears it or he smells it. pick your poison. happened to me at new world. i let the dude hear it in all its audible glory. all he could muster was "..paper towel, sir? parang medyo basa yun, a..".

sabi ko ".. teka check natin, baka may free...".

yukk, kadiri ka talaga, epoy..

2. one thing troubling me are the billboards along pasong tamo right where don bosco is. now, i have friends who are alumni of this great institution, but i really need to call you out: neil, mark, you have to see this shit. it's either a colossally stupid honest mistake or a carefully engineered knock on your alma mater. someone has to look into this because it's really disturbing.

a few months ago it's just this big billboard of a few boys being lectured by an older dude, who is supposedly don bosco, i'm not sure, it's painted, may be an interpretation or dude might be the actual don bosco... it's just that the slogan reads : " it's enough that you are young for me to love you." - don bosco

okay, okay, that ain't much, i know. exactly why i let it slide. just my twisted mind, is all, i reasoned. i kept quiet.

but this month, i think they're advertising for an alumni homecoming or something, and there's this fund-raising event where they referenced Back To The Future, right to the billboard design to the illustration of don bosco riding the Delorean... it reads "Balik-Busko 2008" or something...only it goes on to say " Bring Home The Boys, Bring Home A Car"... and it doesn't help that they put don bosco in the driver's seat, the same way he's painted in the other aforementioned billboard beside it, occupying the wheel looking like a perv on the prowl.

come on now, before you hurl invectives at me, take a look at the billboards. someone has to correct this, i'm just saying.

3. i hate dudes driving they cars with the window rolled down, their left arm hanging on the side, smoking they cigarette like they're patrolmen or summat'. just hate them. especially if they're wearing shades. wala lang, parang ang yabang lang ng dating.

parang trying hard to look cool, e.

4. i want to tell the ayalas and henry sy that for what they're doing to people going to and from trinoma and sm city, they should crawl into their own asses and  die. it's just totally uncool. i mean, they're endangering peoples' lives by not providing proper pedestrian access to trinoma and sm north. you've seen how they're discouraging people to transfer from one mall to the other? that's just a pure business-like-asshole-ic move. you guys have too much fucking money already. swallow a little bit of expense and put aside your petty differences and make the consumers who make you filthy rich a bit comfortable traveling from your establishment to your competitor's safe and easy... won't be the fucking end of the world for you. you'd probably earn more money that way, 'opening up the trade routes' and making both transport nodes safer and more accessible. you fuckers.

5. crossing the bridge connecting trinoma to its mindanao open parking.. using the flyover connecting magallanes to pasay..standing in a condo unit in greenbelt staring at a panoramic view of manila.. just shows me how we've let our country become so fucking ugly.

we mask the stench of decay with a false facade of progress, building these beautiful malls and condominium buildings and complexes and investing in developments that would yield us 'dividends' in the future, all the while widening the gap between haves and have-nots... those who can barely afford to go to malls and just try to momentarily get away from everyday problems by buying shit to reassure them that life in the philippines is not that bad, to those who can actually afford to buy stakes in malls and ventures that would eventually saturate and suck the country dry for the next generation.

we're all busy "trying to get ours".

6. as i get older i find time is passing increasingly faster with each passing day. can't help but feel like i'm working all year so that i have enough money to spend during the holiday season, then actually overspend then try to make up for it the following year while at the same time saving enough to go through the next "season's greetings". weh.

7.i'm thoroughly amused by how starbucks figured out a way to screw us out of our hard-earned money. i just bought a tall Christmas toffee nut latte last night, which this year costs 145 bucks. i think last year it was 125, and the year before that a tall Christmas mix goes for about 110. and you know people NEED to buy them cups of coffee in pursuit of that "Holy Grail" of the Christmas season, the almighty "Starbucks Planner"...i think my sister managed to collect enough stickers to get one before she went back to houston, but not until suffering from arrythmia and the funny 'coffee shakes'.."starbucks tayo? starbucks tayo..'lika, starbucks tayo..hihihi...starbucks tayo, 'lika..".

8. and i'm just sayin'...the fuckers at starbucks and coffee bean should provide free wi-fi for their patrons. 5 tall coffee drinks will pay for one month of 2mbps internet subscription, 50 cups will pay for that fucking wireless router. i know you don't want people with laptops hanging out longer than they're supposed to, but with the prices you're charging for their coffee, they have the right to set up camp in there. 15 pesos an hour lang makigamit ng internet sa mga internet cafe.

follow the example of burger king and give some of that money back, you assholes.

9. if i'm ever passed by a recklessly speeding fucker in a motorcycle and he gets creamed in an accident in front of me, you know i'm not going to stop and help scrape up his sorry ass from the curb.

and that's word.

if you don't respect the perils of traveling the road, you should expect no help when you make semplang on the bangketa. gagu ka, e. iistorbohin mo pa ko sa lakad ko e magpapakulot pa ko kay jesi mendez.

10. i absolutely adore lisa hannigan. still. 'nuff said.

so there. happy new year, you assholes. loko lang. love you all. mwah.

---------------------

Look at me, my depth perception must be off again
Cause this hurts deeper than I thought it did
It has not healed with time
It just shot down my spine
You look so beautiful tonight
Reminds me how you laid us down
And gently smiled before you destroyed my life

Look at me, my depth perception must be off again
You got much closer than I thought you did
I'm in your reach
You held me in your hands

Would you find it in your heart
To make this go away
And let me rest in pieces..

                       - "Rest In Pieces", Saliva from Back Into Your System / One Tree Hill Soundtrack

Ang Hitman

Are You Freakin' Kidding Me?

only two episodes into the 1st season of HBO's Big Love, a series i recently read about in a magazine (i think they're running this here), and all i keep repeating is just that sentence. only i occasionally substitute f--ckin' with freakin'...ok,ok, so i use it a lot while i'm watching this..

but come on, man... what i'm trying to tell you is that this shit is just.. i mean COME ON, MAN!! have you seen this show? tom hanks (one of Big Love's producers) has got to be trying to make my head explode. malapit na.

this series is compelling and the writing is just spot-on, but i have to wear 5 headbands to keep my  head from going ka-blooey.

Come.On.Man..

HBO don't play around with their shit, kapatid. Rome and Big Love just put The Sopranos and Sex And The City way far on my rearview mirror in the list of controversial shit they've spit out through the years.

hey, Bill Paxton's Bill Henrickson character, dealing with THREE WIVES, is beginning to look way more gangsta than Tony Soprano. and Tony's a fucking mob boss, B.

oongapala, isa munang public service announcement. pag nagawi kayo sa megamall at nakita niyo itong naka-paskel na ito, lilinawin ko lang po na hindi ako yung lalaki:

ayos yung napangasawa niya, may taTO (tattoo para sa di laking kalye jan..) na estrelya sa balikat. nice.

nung nakita ko 'tong poster na 'to napa-tumbling ako...tawa nang tawa nanay ko, yari daw ako..

went out to see a couple of movies because i was forced to kill some time between meetings. Beowulf is entertaining enough to keep me awake for almost two hours, baka sulit din yung iMax version... The Nanny Diaries offers the usual life lesson feel good movie formula (ang pogi nung harvard dude, ha..), pero parang na Luz Valdez na ang beauty ni alicia keys...plus scarlett jo is still ScarlettJow..so yun..

the movie Hitman, though...well, yun na nga sinasabi ko, e...to gain more, expect less (kasabihan sa comics na free sa bazoka joe babolgam yan..).. i was kinda hyped when i first saw their trailer...yun tuloy...

two minutes into the movie and it all came crashing down...when the dude started narrating about this group that is so top secret and untouchable that it's known simply as (dyan-dya-raaaan...) "The Organization"...sabi ko, ay puta, may tulog tayo dito...teka, "The Organization" ba 'yun o "The Agency"? whatever, whatever, parehong baduy...

you're better off playing the two Hitman games from eidos, it's way cooler that what they're trying to run away with in this crap. nakakalito pa, di maganda pagkaka-setup...pasong-paso na yung "genetically-engineered assassin" or some similar shit angle, tapos may girl na gugulo ng diskarte niya...ha-ler?

HA-Leeeerrrr!?!

pinaka-ok na yung The Transporter nung araw...malupit din kasi yung soundtrack saka choreography ng action scenes.. kahit medyo sobrang fantastico, lusot na din...saka si Hsu Chi yung babae dun, papi... itong si Olga Kurylenko e parang yung girl na masyadong maraming ipinapangako, yun pala e she ain't all that, ika nga...si Hsu Chi? she's all that and a bag of chips, manay..

what's up with these writers failing to come up with cooler names for groups and villains and organizations nowadays? "The Organization?" "The Agency"? sa Heroes nga dulo na ng pasensya ko yung "The Company", e...h-wow...takot ako...the company...brrrrrrr... chills up and down my spine, day...di ba sila yung kumanta nung "Pakisabi Na Lang", yung ni-revive ni aiza?

kaya siguro mag-walkout ang writer's guild, ayun, unsyami tuloy mga TV shows natin...

ano na nangyari sa mga "Omega Sector", "Carlos The Jackal","TreadStone", "M", yang mga ganyang banat? kahit nga yung "Sinister Six" na kalaban ni Spiderman mas nakaka-intimidate pa kesa sa "The Organization", eh..yung may mga "The" eh gasgas na, ang mga huling cool na may "The" eh "The Brood" saka "The Thirty" at "The Six"...

pag nagkaubusan ng mga tawag sa mga kontrabida at grupong panakot sa mga pelikula at palabas sa TV e baka mauso yung "The Pakers" o "Pakingshets"...

nung pinanood ko itong Hitman e naalala ko yung kaklase ko nung high school. "The Hitman" din tawag namin sa kanya. ang lakas kasi ng anghit niya, parang hinog na bayabas na may halong langka...e ang dalas pa naman namin mag-basketball nang tanghaling-tapat nun...tapos papasok kami sa Filipino class ni Gng. Maypa pagkatapos...awwww...nangangati lalamunan mo pag naaamoy mo...

Speaking of Hitmen, napanood nyo 'yung buzzer-beater ni ray allen kahapon? gaaa-leeeng..click 'nyo yung video, ha...

ok, tulog muna...mwah...

-------------

This is the last time
That I'm ever gonna come here tonight
This is the last time I will fall
Into a place that fails us all inside

And I can see the pain in you
And I can see the love in you
And fighting all the demons will take time
Will take time

The angels they burn inside for us
And are we ever
Are we ever gonna learn to fly
The devils they burn inside of us
And are we ever gonna come back down
Come around
I'm always gonna worry about
The things that could make us cold

This is the last time
That I'm ever gonna give in tonight
Are there angels or devils crawling here?
I just want to know what blurs and what is clear to see

Well I can see the pain in you
And I can see the love in you
And fighting all the demons will take time
It will take time

The angels they burn inside for us
And are we ever
Are we ever gonna learn to fly
The devils they burn inside of us
And are we ever gonna come back down, come around
I'm always gonna worry about
The things
That could break us

If I were to give in
I'd give it up and then
Take a breath, make it deep
'Cause it might be the last one you get
Be the last one that could make us cold
Could make us cold
I'm always gonna worry about
The things that could make us cold.

                   -"Angels Or Devils", Dishwalla from Opaline/Greetings...Live From The Flow State

Where We Left Off

let's just throw in a few ideas out there for the new government ad campaign:

dude in an office-barong (you know what i mean..) takes time off in the middle of fleecing a hapless mrt commuter to give an interview; "..Ay, oo naman.. dati puro mga 5110 lang, swerte na 3210 saka 8210..saka puro discman pa 'nun. ngayon halos everyday na yung ipod, ok yung bagong nano, ha? cute sha... shempre mga phone nitong mga 'to, ang tataray na, may P1, o kaya puro n-series..mababa na 2.0 megapixels yung camera, tapos tigda-dalawa pa kasi may mga dala pang para sa Sun (victim pipes in from the background "..oonga..")..may mga gumagamit na din ng iPhone pero di pa ko nakakatiyempo.. so masasabi ko talaga, Ramdam Ko Ang Pag-Asenso.."

gold-digger toting a fendi handbag takes a break from raiding greenbelt 4 and goes "..Dati si congressman sakto lang magpa-allowance.. greenhills lang, ganun, glorietta... pinaka-ok na pag rustan's ang natutuntong ko.. saka corolla lang ride ko 'nun, malayo na ang boracay na booking namin ni Rep..ngayon, nakasubaybay ako sa news, kasi pag may reklamo na naman sa malakanyang o may kabalbalang kinasasangkutan si presidente, awww, siguradong madami na namang pera ang papa koh..unprecedented nga itong bigayan na 'to ng incentive, kahit panahon ni erap hindi pa ganito..kita mo ang english ko, ha? natutunan ko yan kahapon sa class, in-enroll kasi ako ni big papi, e..kaya magpapatotoo ako, day.. Ramdam Ko Ang Pag-Asenso.."

13-year-old beggar goes "..kahit papaano yung nasa basurahan ngayon mas masarap kesa dati. kaso nga lang ang dami nang kaagaw..paking syet, Ramdam Ko Ang Pag-Asenso.."

still funny?

kung kailangan mo pa magpa-commercial nang ganito, di lalo lang ibig sabihin na naglolokohan lang tayo.

para namang pag problemado ka o broken-hearted di ka humihirit ng "..okey lang ako, promise, okey lang ako.."..but it's more like reciting to yourself in those moments of self-examination 'di ako naiinggit' o 'masaya ako ngayon..masaya ako ngayon..'

a few days ago i slipped into racking my brain about this whole 'economic growth' crap... i'm guessing that somehow they found a way to manipulate the numbers to make it look like we're moving up to cover how much we're being pulled down in murky shit.

and yesterday JP Morgan backed me up with this.

siyempre sa inquirer meron din. nakakatawa ang depensa ni merceditas. pihado aral kay justice secretary 'to. bibong-bibo rin e.

hay naku. makulimlim pa, nakakadagdag sa pagka-badtrip ko na natalo na ang celtics kahapon.

ok na din. maganda na naman ang hirit ni KG. maganda naman talaga humirit itong si idol. parang nung huling cover article niya sa SLAM:

"..I understand what it is to work, and I think that’s why you gravitate toward my work ethic. If you ever want to see if someone’s a hard worker, give ‘em a boatload of money and see if he still works hard. I’m probably not the best player in this league, but I work really, really hard. I work really hard, and I know this. That’s one thing can’t nobody say about me: that he doesn’t work hard. And I’ll lean my hat on that every day."

o, ha?

so there. this fax just came in this morning. "i'm back, motherfuckaz."

---------

You
Are still a whisper on my lips
A feeling at my fingertips
That's pulling at my skin

You
You leave me when I'm at my worst
Feeling as if I've been cursed
Bitter cold within

Days go by and still I think of you
Days when I couldn't live my life without you
Days go by and still I think of you
Days when I could live my life without you
Without you
Without you
Without you

You are still a whisper on my lips
A feeling at my fingertips
That's pulling at my skin

You leave me when I'm at my worst
Feeling as if I've been cursed
Bitter cold within

Days go by and still I think of you
Days when I couldn't live my life without you
Without you.

Days go by and still I think of you
Days when I couldn't live my life without you
Days go by and still I think of you
Days when I couldn't live my life without you
Without you
You.

                    -"Days Go By", Dirty Vegas

R.I.P. Tito Fred, Trick, Dach, Daddy Dom

Tribute

I will miss his easy smile the most. that 100-watt smile that knocked not a few girls off their rocker.

he was always armed with that smile. whatever the situation (like when him and neil presented a busted-up design plate model to our class and neil described how it collided with  the knee of a guy from the bus..), however humiliating the position we got ourselves into (like the time five of us grabbed breakfast at mcdonald's eastwood after an overnight model-making session, nanlilimahid pa kami nun at naka shorts at gula-gulanit na t-shirt lang, habang ang mga kasabay namin e mga naka-isputing na mga schoolmates namin sa UP...), maybe even if the heavens fell on him, he will always come out unscathed, still with that perfect-set-of-teeth-smile. he just knew, and i learned a bit from him: after the shitstorm, the time to flash that smile and to laugh everything off will inevitably come.

I will miss the way he seemed to laugh his ass off at a particularly funny joke or story or quip.

he's always switched on to laugh, because he lives for it. it's no accident that he surrounded himself with the funniest friends, going as far back as grade school to get the wackiest jokers out there. i admit, not having him there ready to laugh at another impossibly funny anecdote, well, it just won't be the same.

I will miss the things and phrases we came up with and used over the years.

he started the official exclaiming of "it's a complete!!!" whenever we finish a plate or a project or a model. he also started the "i will back..." phrase which we used to death in college and during our cellarworx years. we stole "..aaaargh!! is terrible pain!!" from neil, and "hmmmmm... i smell fishy..." from jei. there was a period when texting was still new that we indulged in swardspeak when we sent messages to each other. "bakla, kumain ka na ba?", he'd ask, to which i'd reply "..ng ano? ahahahaaay...". we'd go back and forth until we finally agree on barbeque and rice for dinner at the office for the boys.

I will miss his loyalty and easy companionship.

he always believed that i can take on anybody in a game of basketball back in college..tsk tsk.. well, his loyalty and support was based on his dedication to me as a friend, and, misplaced or not, i appreciate it until today. we used to journey to the UP gym on wednesdays when there were open runs and he helped me take names in pickup basketball. we even took on the CHK guys. we'd lift weights and take PE classes together to get extra training, then sometimes in the middle of the night we'd lift some more. we'd overtrain ourselves to the point that he'd be rolling in laughter because i wouldn't be able to straighten my arms for two weeks or i'd fall asleep on the bench press because we had to do circuit weight training after doing our thesis all night. we'd devour a crapload of kikiam and drink liters of mountain dew after every workout, and we had the best time. i will miss the overnight sessions, room 517, the thesis hut, the cellarworx office.I was already missing our double pizza fridays, and the magic tournaments.. it's a lifetime's worth of memories right there, with a friend that's worth more than his weight in gold.

 

I will miss him in the backseat on road trips.

it just wouldn't be the same without him completing the group. all the hypothetical questions we ask each other (anong amount ng pera ang tatanggapin mo na gagawin mo ang isang bagay, yung kahit ano ang ipagawa sa iyo?), the crazy ideas we come up with (the 'fulfill your sexual fantasy' escort service), the inside jokes like the "kaninong sabon 'to incident?"..the mixtapes, the food, the journey to wherever our destination maybe..

I will miss the stories and blooper reels that we regale each other with over and over again.

his misadventures with girls. his crazy stalkers like 'the black girl' and 'landslide girl'. the way he laughed when we told others the story of how Clifford called a greeting to one of our professors who was climbing the stairs, who then stumbled wildly and had his shoe fly off in the process; or to daniel's "napanood mo ba yung silence with the lamb?"; the "stereo with beta" story; the apo hiking society marathon; the  collision of dan and jason's universe.. we're going to do these stories over and over again, and i hope every once in a while he'll be there listening, laughing heartily, just like when he was still here.

I will miss our field trips to girlie bars and strip joints.

we sort of tried out going to strip bars for the first few times together. we discovered club idol, and i remember how even seated next to a half-naked stripper he was still the consummate gentleman. unlike sleazebags who start groping their "teybol" the moment the girl sits down, patrick politely engages the girl in conversation and makes the effort to get to know her better. he even gives her advice on how to get out of this 'temporary setback' and to never give up trying to improve her situation. talaga naman..

I will miss the drinking sessions.

i'm very happy that that last two meetings we had, we did the thing we loved to do the most: opening a few bottles of beer and just talk about stuff. we started at the lion's den (chris's old apartment..) in college, sneaked a few sessions at the thesis hut, and did a lot of drinking at the cellarworx office. we rarely got stone-cold drunk, we just enjoyed the company of friends. real life kind of got in the way of our drinking sessions, but whenever we had one, it was a celebration of our friendship. from now on, everytime the rest of us gather for drinks, we're going to order a bottle of his favorite pale pilsen and save him a spot. he will always be with us when we go drinking, and that's word.

with all that being said (at kahit bading na bading na ang dating ko..), let me just thank our sponsors, who saw us through our good run:

 

San Miguel Beer Pale Pilsen
Colt 45
Jose Cuervo Tequila
Lucky Me! La Paz Batchoy
Lizardo's Buttered Beef with Corn and Carrots
Ate Rose
Rhoda, pound-for-pound the Strongest Gay Man on Earth
Mang Charlie
Conan The Librarian
Mang Abner
Dean Honrado Fernandez (Rest in Peace, sir..)
Dean Christopher Stonewall Espina
THE Godfather, Arch. Michael V. Tomeldan
Arch. Bronne Dytoc
Arch. Michelle Dizon
Arki Forum
Casaa
Manong's Isaw
Manong's Kikiam and Fishballs and Squidballs
Mountain Dew
Banana Q at Turon nung Manang na Syota ni Daniel
Stephen's Aunt
Christopher's Landlady
The Lion's Den
Mang Nonong (erpat ni StephenJong)
Omega Recto
Brian Sychingiok (kuya ni Clipord)
Karen (alalay/no. 2 ni Clipord), lagi kaming pinapakain..
Good Burgers
Pizza Hut
Manong's Bar B Q
Manong's Extra Extra Rice
Jollibee Chickenjoy and Fish & Fries
McDonald's Big Mac, Burger McDo and McChicken
KFC
Use Your Illusion I
Use Your Illusion II
People's Park
Samurai Shodown I & II
Max Payne
Rainbow Six
Baldur's Gate
Christopher's Honda Civic ACW 222 a.k.a. The Clown Car
Genato's ancient Black Toyota Crown
Glo-Ri's
Mr. Kabab
Wendy's Super Value Meals and Salad Bar
Shakey's
Aruba Restaurant and Bar
Trellis' Pork Sisig
Babba Shawarma
7-11 Hotdogs and 850ml Gulp
Burger Machine
Baliwag Lechong Manok and Liempo
Colette's Buko Pie
Casino Filipino
Canyon Woods
Rodic's
Girls Gone Wild
The Cockateer
Buns N' Roses
Cali Shandy
Eight O' Clock Orange Juice
King Ginno's Pares
McJolly's
SR Thai Cuisine
Dunkin' Donuts
Brother's Burger
Hang Ten
SM Supermalls
Greenwich Corporation
Kendeigh and The Malaysian Mafia
and op kors, the original Coffee Nook (ma'am Jojo O., what up?)

 

it's been one hell of a ride, and patrick, we're glad we went through all of this together. you ma' boy, and we're going to miss you everyday. Godspeed, my friend. Godspeed.

How do I say goodbye to what we had?
The good times that made us laugh
Outweigh the bad

I thought we'd get to see forever
But forever's gone away
It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday

I don't know where this road
Is going to lead
All I know is where we've been
And what we've been through

If we get to see tomorrow
I hope it's worth all the wait
It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday

And I'll take with me the memories
To be my sunshine after the rain
It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday

And I'll take with me the memories
To be my sunshine after the rain..

It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday.

         -"It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday", Boyz II Men from Cooley High Harmony

De-Beer-Gin-ization

one of the reasons i don't watch that much tv programming anymore is because of the ads. the other reason is all i have time for now are my downloaded US TV series episodes, so i don't really need the TV as much as i needed it two years ago. fiending for the latest episode of Heroes, Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip, House, 24, Friday Night Lights, Grey's Anatomy, The Office, 30 Rock, Prison Break (Scofield, ahahaaaay...) and One Tree Hill take up most of my time, and i even recently finished downloading 6 seasons worth of Northern Exposure and one season of ED. that's all i do nowadays, watch stuff on my computer. factor in my ebay time and the two hours everyday that i do actual work, wala na talaga akong oras para mag-surf for porn..ehem..(..ulul..).

ok. tuning in to local programming and having to go through the various  commercials  nowadays can be akin to having a root canal while giving birth to a three-year-old boy. i'm exaggerating, of course, but seeing sam milby going on and on about his hotdogs and how he wants to be "complete" (why is he invisible on most girls' gay-dar? can't you people see it, specially when he speaks in tagalog? ang taray niya magdeliver ng lines, ha? in denial kayo masyado, e..)? okay, so the picture's a fake, but still, damn.. and what's up with aga and those damn "cough syrup alternative" bits? and don't get me started on PCSO. fuck. there are but a few commercials out there that deserve my 30 seconds of attention and far fewer are the ones that make me chuckle, all the rest are just bits of crap trying to sell off mounds of crap.

so, needing to tune in to the PBA finals game 5 between Ginebra and San Miguel Beer, i had to endure a lot of these motherfucking ads. at siyempre, campaign season na naman. poottangnangyan. having had my regurgitated fill of "Ang Maong", now PCSO rams that "...ikaw ang kanlungan ng nangangailangan..." crap. and manny villar is dancing like an old dude with a displaced hip all of a sudden, catching shovels and weighing fish and shit... hey, isn't that keanna reeves in the mike defensor campaign ad? the most hilarious unfunny campaign of all? robin padilla endorsing richard gomez for senator. naaalala ko pa nung pinagulong ni robin si goma sa isang suntok nung araw sa star olympics...parang kailan lang...tapos ngayon, chummy-chummy na sila...ang politika nga naman.

i don't know why so many people discourage actors from running for public office. honestly, i can't distinguish one from the other. politics and showbiz? e pareho lang yan, e. kung sino sikat at makakapagdala ng political o showbiz career mo, dun ka sasakay. it's two acts within one giant circus. tingnan nyo yan, the aforementioned goma and binoe relationship. dati, nagsasapakan yang dalawang yan at nag-aagawan kay sharon cuneta, e ngayon, para sa interes ng isa't isa, nagsanib ang dalawang kumag. panay pa ang panood ni goma ng PBA kasama si lucy. punyetang yan, ang bait-bait ng misis eh ginagamit pa sa maling ambisyon. si loren legarda at manny villar, paiyak-iyak pa sa impeachment hearing ni erap, ngayon daig pa ang rugby na pinatuyo sa magkabilang side ng ididikit ang kapit kay erap ng mga potah. si tito sotto, dati sa ticket ni erap, aba'y sa administration na pala ngayon. ano ba yun? sobra na talaga comedy sa politika natin sobrang nakakaiyak na.

at least we get to see funny campaign ads. meron na ba si cesar montano at manny pacquiao?

ok, maiba tayo. akala yata ng SMB e best-of-3 lang ang finals. because after drubbing ginebra in game 1 and narrowly escaping them in game 2, they have been absent for a whole week now, giving up games 3 and 4 in embarassing fashion and letting slip  a hotly-contested 1st half to give away game 5 earlier tonight. truthfully, after game 2 i found myself dreading that ginebra's pick-and-roll execution and blazing run and gun offense have been stopped cold by SMB, and for the first time in the conference they were truly outmatched. i thought i jinxed them when i predicted victory before the series even started.

but damn.

storming back and playing like they were on speed or magic mushrooms or somethin', ginebra has successfully turned the tables on a deeper SMB team. playing with relentless energy and unforgiving offensive precision, they have reduced the beermen to mere spectators of Ginebra Showtime Basketball. it ain't over yet, but man, i never expected this to be too easy. i mean come on, the beermen are just throwing up three-pointer after three-pointer, some they connect on, a lot they keep missing... give us another scare, dammit...

i admit, i was dumbfounded when they kept making trey after trey in games 1 and 2. i declared that "mauubos din ang bwenas nila..." but in my heart i didn't believe it. pwede kasi talaga ma-near-perfect ang shooting (reggie miller, rick barry, ricardo brown, allan caidic...), and with lordy tugade plus dondon hontiveros teaming up with the unstoppable danny seigle, topped with chris calaguio and LA tenorio hitting circus shots and shit, i really thought we were done for. babawi naman siguro, sabi ko, and win game 3 they did. still, i thought game 3 was a fluke, Ginebra running away in the 3rd quarter by scoring 43 in that quarter alone and burying SMB in an avalanche of points, aided by the beermen misfiring on their three-point attempts in the 4th. sabi ko nga sa mga boys ko, akala kasi ng San Miguel araw-araw pasko, e Balentime's Day nga last wednesday, di ba?

so, settling in a sports bar for game 4, i was expecting a hell of a fight. should my boys lose this one, it's a 1-3 deficit, a hole so insurmountable only one team ever overcame it to win a game 7 (incidentally, that team was the 1991 3rd conference Ginebra Team...), and SMB looked poised to go for the jugular. alas, (king and queen at jack...) as luck would have it (pun, pun, pun..), the gin kings came to play and the beermen attended the game to run their mouth and complain to the officials. ganun talaga, chot reyes. sa isang finals series, kahit sa boxing, ang aggressor ang pinapaboran ng mga tawag, because those who try to make things happen inevitably do. e angalan ng angalan ang mga bata mo, wala na sila sa laro. ikaw naman, kung makasimangot ka parang palagi kang dinadaya... ganun din naman nangyari sa ginebra sa games 1 and 2, ah. they came out flat, they got run to the ground. the officials aren't going to help you, you have to force them to make the calls.

hay naku. let's see if i just jinxed the barangay once again. but when my brother told me that chot reyes proclaimed after game 2 that there won't be a game 7, i wholeheartedly agreed. we had different things in mind, of course, but it's beginning to look a lot like chot reyes and i are going to be prophetic.

i finally got around to watching american idol again, and it's down to the final 24. at siyempre may pinoyboy na naman. magaling siya, he needs to step up his game a notch or two, but i think he'll be a'ight. a'ight?

makatulog na nga muna.

ooops, nabanggit ko a few posts ago yung isang version ng rootless tree, di ba? yung sa mga may gusto, you can get it here. galeng. feel na feel niya, bru.

-----------

well i've been here before
sat on the floor in a grey grey room
where i stay in all day
i don't eat, but i play with this grey grey food
desole, if someone is prayin' then i might break out
desole, even if i scream i can't scream that loud

i'm all alone again
crawling back home again
stuck by the phone again..

well i've been here before
sat on a floor in a grey grey mood
where i stay up all night
and all that i write is a grey grey tune
so pray for me child, just for a while
that i might break out yeah
pray for me child
even a smile would do for now

'cause i'm all alone again
crawling back home again
stuck by the phone again..

have i still got you to be my open door?
have i still got you to be my sandy shore?
have i still got you to cross my bridge in this storm?
have i still got you to keep me warm?

if i squeeze my grape, then i drink my wine
coz if i squeeze my grape, then i drink my wine
oh coz nothing is lost, it's just frozen in frost,
and it's opening time, there's no-one in line

but i've still got me to be your open door,
i've still got me to be your sandy shore
i've still got me to cross your bridge in this storm
and i've still got me to keep you warm.

warmer than warm, yeah..

           -"Grey Room", Damien Rice from 9

The Tingting Mandate

The dawn is breaking
A light shining through
You're barely waking
And I'm tangled up in you

I'm open, you're closed
Where I follow, you'll go
I worry I won't see your face
Light up again

Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the wrong words seem to rhyme
Out of the doubt that fills my mind
I somehow find
You and I collide

I'm quiet you know
You make a first impression
I've found I'm scared to know I'm always on your mind

Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the stars refuse to shine
Out of the back you fall in time
I somehow find
You and I collide

Don't stop here
I've lost my place
I'm close behind

Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the wrong words seem to ryhme
Out of the doubt that fills your mind
You finally find
You and I collide

You finally find
You and I collide
You finally find
You and I collide.

            -" Collide", Howie Day from Stop All The World Now

Collide!! yan ang mangyayari sa Ginebra at San Miguel sa finals!!

ang corny nun, a. pero excited na ko.

personally, i'd rather have The Red Bull-Bulls as Ginebra's opponents in the finals. i'm still smarting from when they made tsamba and got away with an offensive foul non-call on enrico villanueva, the one where he floored rodney santos and enabled celino cruz to shoot a wide-open three in game 7 of last year's semifinals. that was when ginebra had chris porter as their import (30 game 6 rebounds!!!) and 1 minute and change away from completing another historic climb from a 1-3 deficit.

well, with the Red Bull-Bulls missing all those free throws, in a game 7 nonetheless, after all their tough talk and yeng guiao's barbs and theatrics, they deserved to bow down to the beermen. san miguel displayed prolific basketball, The Red Bull-Bulls wilted under the pressure. the prospect of winning this game 7 and having to face Ginebra's wrath in the finals as their reward proved too much for them to handle. 20 missed free throws in a game 7?  mga kabadings.

kudos to san miguel, themselves discovering redemption from when junthy "diego" valenzuela converted on a buzzer beater last year to take a 1-point win in game 7 of their semifinal duel. with this win, they finally banished the spectre of that painful loss, specially when they saw pampanga vice governor yeng guiao yelling at SMB's fans at the cuneta astrodome : "ano? mga put*%#@inanyo!! whoo!!" when diego made the shot.

we shall enjoy beating the beermen in this finals series, pero sayang, it won't be as satisfying as trashing The Red Bull-Bulls in a championship confrontation, parang nung ginawa nila nung andun pa si torion. being denied of that prospect, i'm sort of miffed. piro oki lang.

sana makalaro na si papa menk. nakikipag-rambol pa kasi e, ayan, nahampas tuloy ng tubo sa binti. tsk. ipinadukot na kaya nina tony boy yung pumalo dun? i'm guessing the one who took out menk for the series has some pretty serious juice himself, knowing who he's trying to take out. o di kaya naman he was so hammered and galactically-stupid to a) try and engage fafa eric in a fight (i swear, sinlaki ng braso ni menk ang binti at hita ko...) and b) be oblivious of a guaranteed payback from the san miguel corporation for damaging their materiales fuertes in time for a crucial semifinal showdown. ano nga kaya ang totoong nangyari dun? hmmmm....

kasi naman, with all this pent-up anger and all of this "pataasan ng ihi" among your fellowmen, di talaga malayo na mapunta sa violent confrontation ang lahat ng nangyayari sa pinas. at least our politicians aren't beating each other up in the senate and congress, unlike those folks in taiwan, nagbabatuhan pa ng sapatos bukod sa nagsasampalan, nagsasabunutan at nagchuchuntukan. dito sa pilipinas, nagraratratan lang sila sa labas...

pero yung everyday living ng ordinary folk? seems like we're just plodding on in the midst of all the bullshit that's going on around us. each and every one of us are either just trying to make a living, trying to get the kids through school, trying to save a relationship, trying to get in a relationship, trying to make ends meet...trying, trying, trying, tapos andami pang bwisit sa paligid mo. the prospect of another dirty elections, the government's underhanded tactics to avoid relinquishing control to the people, mga magnanakaw na politicians na ninanakawan pa yung mga pinakamahihirap na mga mamamayan natin, mga kupal na driver, mangongotong na pulis na di nanghuhuli ng mga kupal na driver, namemera pa sa mga private vehicle owners, mga mandurugas sa mrt, mga kupal na kapwa-pilipino, mga tiwaling empleyado ng gobyerno, mga mapanamantalang driver ng taxi, mga maliliit na burger sa fastfood pag gutom na gutom ka na pepekein ka pa ng picture...

if you're an ordinary citizen and you want peace, you're bound to never get it, sobrang dami ng koalisyon ng mga kupal sa paligid mo. top this on your everyday problems and you'll feel you're going to explode like peter petrelli trying to hold all of this bullshit down. sooner or later, i'm telling you, somebody's gonna get a gun and go apeshit on everybody. i once drove by a traffic altercation that led to a jeepney driver going for his metal tube and the two men he's arguing with going back to their vehicle to get a small hatchet each. i don't know how that went down, i was just passing through but damn, that could have ended ugly. so much hate, so much anger, ika nga ni Yoda.

thus, the conception of The Tingting Mandate.

i think each and every one of us should be allowed the option to carry around a 3-ft-long Tingting, and be free to strike anyone who draws our ire: yung makulit na ale sa bus na naniniksik pa e ang laki laki na ng balakang sa kakakain ng Gonads Donatch (Gonuts Donuts, ahem..), the fellow who cuts in line at the fx terminal, the bitch at the mcdo counter, and yes, the road usurper, yung kupal sa kalye na gumagawa ng sarili nyang pila tapos makikisiksik sa bottleneck o intersection.

no, no one is going to be allowed to use anything other than their Tingting to strike, no fists, no throwing of slippers, no spitting and eye-gouging, no physical contact whatsoever. only their regulation-approved Tingting (the end shouldn't be hard enough for it to be used as a poking device) can make contact with the other party, on any part of the body except the face. no touching of the other one's Tingting, and no attempt to break it shall be made. and yes, to make it simple, pwede rin mag-gang war pero tingting lang ang gamit. siyempre kung mag-isa ka lang naman you won't dare try to engage a larger group, di ba? The Tingting Mandate enables you an option to challenge anyone who offends you to a duel. you will be able to unleash your pent-up rage at any time without the risk of seriously hurting somebody or worse, going to jail for homicide. pag nabubwisit ka, mang-atake ka ng Tingting mo, puta, ewan ko lang kung di maubos ang galit mo sa pagod sa kakahataw.

tingin nyo, kung in effect na ang Tingting Mandate e napatay kaya ni Leviste yung aide niya? di hindi sana siya nakakulong ngayon, puro latay lang yung alalay niya..

of course, lahat naman ng batas ang hirap ipatupad dito sa Pilipinas e. who would ensure that all the principles of The Tingting Mandate are enforced at all times? tayo-tayo din. when someone goes overboard with it and starts using fists or starts kicking, i bet we'd be more compelled to butt in kasi nga, meron nang Tingting Mandate e, meron nang susundan na guidelines. kasi, imagine, nasa pila ka ng fx. may babaeng nangunguna agad tumabi sa driver komo kasama siya sa sampu sa bilang, e ikaw naman ang no. 1 dun sa sampu. manggagamit pa ng kasamang bata yan, kung minsan, patatakbuhin agad yung batang kasama nila para makapamili ng magandang upuan. kung lalaki ka di mo naman pwede patulan at shempre, kung for example e matandang walang pinagkatandaan ang kumukupal sa yo, aside from fisticuffs, you don't have any other option but let the offender have their way.

but with the Tingting Mandate, walang lalaki, walang babae, walang bata, walang matanda. oo, mas malakas siguro humampas ng tingting yung malalaking tao, pero at least, kung tingting lang ang tatama sa yo, at hindi kamao ng ga-bakulaw na maton, di ba mas tatapang ka mang-away ng mas malaki sa yo? at kung bulinggit naman ang kaaway mo, ok lang din hambalusin mo ng tingting, di ka nangbu-bully.

ongapala, allowed din siguro magmura at magsisigaw habang nanghahampas ng tingting. mas madali makapagod pag nagsisisigaw ka, e, so mauubos agad ang turbo mo pag hampas ka nang hampas tapos mura ka pa ng mura, mas madali matatapos ang away. saka wala namang bearing kung magaling magmura yung kaduwelo mo, kasi ika nga, "sticks and stones can hurt my bones (in this case Tingting can hurt my skin...) but words..". hmph. wag na nga.

it's a stupid idea, but it can be brilliant if executed well, no?

----------

She wanted to be a cowboy
She was shootin' 'em down
She was tramping around.
He walked in crooked with the clear blue eyes.
"There's a nice pool at my motel you want to go for a swim?"
That night he moved in.

The time between meeting and finally leaving is
Sometimes called falling in love.
The time between meeting and finally leaving is
Sometimes called falling in love.

At night she'd wait for the sound of his feet on the doormat,
The sound of his hand on the doorknob,
The sound of her heart beating in her head.
He'd go out playing nickel slots, cause he knew he'd lose -
She didn't know, so she couldn't choose.
One night while sleeping along in her bed,
The phone rang, she woke up, and sat up and said,
"What time is it? What time is it?"
"Well, it's 5:30 here and it's 2:30 there,
And I won't be home tonight," he said.

The time between meeting and finally leaving is
Sometimes called falling in love.
The time between meeting and finally leaving is
Sometimes called falling in love.

Now she sits in a booth in a diner,
Waiting for someone to take her order,
Waiting for someone to come and sit down.
She rubs the smudge off the photograph, puts it back into her purse.
The grey sky was romatic cause he was holding her hand,
He was her man.

The time between meeting and finally leaving is
Sometimes called falling in love.
The time between meeting and finally leaving is
Sometimes calling falling in love.
Sometimes called falling in love.

She wanted to be a cowboy,
She was shootin' 'em down,
She was tramping around.

          -"Falling In Love", Lisa Loeb from Firecracker

"9" And "O"

been quite a while now, so let's do this.