Still awake as of this moment, and I remember that this time slot is where the late great German "Kuya Germs" Moreno used to host Walang Tulugan. It's been a couple of days since I heard the very sad news through Eat Bulaga that the so-called Master Showman had sadly closed his curtains for the last time ever.
I actually had the honor and privilege of seeing him in person last December in what would turn out to be the last Eastwood City Walk of Fame ceremony he will ever get to grace, although I never got to speak to him personally. (As an aspiring screenwriter myself, being able to see him as well as most of the celebrities who got their stars on the Walk of Fame that night made me feel even more encouraged to pursue my career in showbusiness, even if it's only behind the scenes.) Though his entertainment style may be considered by many to be outdated by today's standards (as he grew up and became famous with it), his influence and overall contributions to Philippine showbusiness are incalculable. Not to mention, many of the talents he nurtured, especially with that legendary That's Entertainment which I grew up watching, went on to succesful showbiz careers and remain very active today.
Aside from Kuya Germs in showbiz, the last three weeks have been particularly tough as not only one, two or three but four veritable institutions in their respective fields in the Philippines sadly passed away. Journalism's Letty Jimenez-Magsanoc and basketball's Lim Eng Beng and Ron Jacobs all died within three days of each other last December. As a Filipino, I humbly thank all of them for their invaluable contributions to Philippine culture and society, and may they all rest in heavenly peace.
Sunday, January 10, 2016
Thursday, December 31, 2015
Some 2015 events in retrospect (especially Miss Universe) + Knocking on the screenwriting door (Part 1)
Aw, bless my long lay-off from this blog and social media in general. That blessing called previous job with a heavy workload took some time and energy away from my extra-curricular activities I'm only beginning to learn to appreciate even more now that I have more time in my hands as I currently rest and strive to regain my old, youthful strength and energy.
Before the year 2015 comes to a formal close, I have made a commitment to write one last blog entry. I wrote this one between the 30th to the 31st of December, which are legal holidays in my native Philippines and therefore a whole lot of free time and desire for me to write this one. Let me start by saying that in one of my self-study sessions in screenwriting, I realized one important thing about being a screenwriter: I must keep on writing in order to keep myself going, lest my skills would fall into disuse and stagnation over time. This thought led me to finally make my first blog entry after goodness knows how much time has passed me by, clouded by laziness, procrastination, and any other lame excuse anyone could think of under the sun (except of course for a heavy workload that virtually sapped the life out of me).
I recall that I've promised to myself before that I'll be writing here right now about one brutal weekend, particularly October 3 to 4, wherein three of my favorite teams all ended up losing in heartbreaking fashion. First to take the fall were the undersized but gallant, overachieving Gilas Pilipinas, who dropped a heartbreaking, highly-controversial 67-78 setback at the hands of tall, athletic China in the just-concluded FIBA Asia Championship. Next to take the fall were the Ateneo Lady Eagles at the hands of UAAP rival National University Lady Bulldogs in the Finals of the Shakey's V-League Collegiate Conference. (I managed to watch Games 2 and 3 of that championship series live, and the Lady Eagles regretfully weren't in their usual deadly element without Coach Tai Bundit, who was in his native Thailand for a prior commitment that time.) Lastly, the Ateneo Blue Eagles lost to UAAP blood rival De La Salle Green Archers, although the former were able to exact revenge on the latter a few weeks later. And as if those weren't enought salt into my wounds, the Philippine Azkals lost to now fellow also-rans Bahrain and Yemen on October 13 and November 12, respectively, during their 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification efforts. The losses effectively eliminated them from further contention for one of four automatic Asian slots to the 2018 tournament, meaning the country has to wait for at least another four years before being able to see the light of that highly prestigious tournament for the first time ever.
I once contemplated of writing a separate entry for those aforementioned events. However, due to lack of inspiration and the sheer heartache I experienced from those debacles, I eventually decided against doing so. And in its place comes this entry, which is sort of a diversion from my past entries as this has something to do with a very recent event not related to sports. This is about none other than Pia Wurtzbach, the reigning Miss Universe 2015. In case I haven't informed you yet, I'm probably one of those rare straight men who is a fan of all three B's we Filipinos in general are truly passionate about: basketball, boxing, and beauty pageants. In short, I'm passionate about virtually anything that could give honor and recognition to my beloved Philippines.
This year's Miss Universe was held on the morning of December 21, Manila time. I was very busy at that time, which was why I didn't get to watch the telecast live until its latter stages. I don't see the need to elaborate on the events further as practically the whole world knows by now what transpired during the pageant's concluding stages. As I have already mentioned in one of my most recent Facebook posts, the win may have been tainted by that bit of controversy, but a win is still a win for our beloved Philippines no matter what. However, I do also feel sad for Ariadna Gutiérrez and the rest of her fellow Colombians and the close-knit Latino community in general for what happened. It's somewhat like her reaching the summit of Mount Everest, only for her to be shoved hard back down the steep slope shortly afterwards.
Perhaps out of plain curiosity and sheer interest in an event that has put the Philippines in the international news radar once again, I have been scouring through the web about the event for a few days now. By doing so, I realized that the controversy could be some sort of a blessing in disguise as it unmasked many of Pia's fellow contestants and exposed them for the bitter, jealous sore losers that they truly are behind their pretty faces. I would neither elaborate on the things they did nor name names here, and I'll just leave it up to you peeps to find them out for yourselves. Whether this hatred is rooted in racism (God forbid, this behavior is totally unacceptable in a civilized society) or just plain bitterness is immaterial. The damage has been done, and such behavior had the judges, especially Perez Hilton, claiming that they have made the right choice to have kind, humble Pia crowned as the rightful winner all along. A netizen by the username djinn123 aptly put it:
All things being said, I would still like to give Ariadna and the rest of the competing ladies so much credit for giving our local bet one hell of a fight to make her prove to the world that she deserved to win the crown.
Moving over to the positive side of the spectrum, the controversy also served to reveal the inner beauty of many of the ladies beneath their pretty faces. The world certainly found out who among the sea of beauties are our beloved girl's true friends who served as the wind beneath her wings during the most awkward moment anyone could possibly go through. Names are worth mentioning here this time. They include but may not be limited to the following ladies I have listed below based on the information I got online. I have also linked their names to their respective Instagram accounts for my fellow Filipinos who have Instagram accounts of their own in case they would like to drop by a message of thanks to these lovely ladies for their kind gesture towards our beloved Miss. (I hope I got all of their accounts right!) Okay, ready? Here they are:
Miss Israel Avigail Alfatov, Miss Malaysia Vanessa Tevi Kumares, Miss Myanmar May Barani Thaw, Miss Mauritius Sheetal Khadun, Miss Cayman Islands Tonie Chisholm, Miss British Virgin Islands Adorya Baly, Miss Lebanon Cynthia Samuel, Miss Norway Martine Rødseth, Miss Albania Megi Luka, Miss Belgium Annelies Törös, Miss Vietnam Phạm Thị Hương, Miss China Jessica Yun Fang Xue, Miss Sweden Paulina Brodd, Miss Georgia Janet Kerdikoshvili, Miss Russia Vladislava Evtushenko, Miss Austria Amina Dagi, Miss Great Britain Narissara France, Miss Finland Rosa-Maria Ryyti, Miss Nigeria Debbie Collins, and Miss Dominican Republic Clarissa Molina.
(Photo courtesy of Jocelyn Dimaculangan.)
Whew! Those were quite a mouthful to mention. There are other names here that deserve special mention. First off, I would like to commend Miss Australia Monika Radulovic, who was among those who congratulated Pia and who later revealed in a now-viral interview with Australian morning program Sunrise that just about all of the contestants knew all along that Pia was the real winner when the teleprompter said, "Philippines, please take your first walk as Miss Universe" after Ariadna was crowned. This could be the reason why there was a near-deafening silence right after Ariadna was declared the winner. But for no apparent reason, many of the contestants turned a blind eye to the truth and insisted that Ariadna is still the true winner. They even had the gall to accuse Pia, not bumbling host Steve Harvey, of stealing the crown from Miss Colombia. But when asked how come it was Pia's fault, none of them could give a coherent answer to the question. Did everyone, including the four Miss Universe individual judges, smell bitterness and mob mentality here? No wonder why all of them lost in the first place.
Enough of the negativity. Second, Miss USA Olivia Jordan is also worthy of commendation. That so-called BFF act she demonstrated when Pia was declared the real winner is priceless.
Lastly, I reserve my third and last individual commendation for Miss Bulgaria Radostina Todorova. She may have been a clapper at the pageant, but she certainly showed she is a grand winner of a friend and supporter when she encouraged a then-hesitant Pia to march to the front stage to accept her crown once Mr. Harvey revealed the colossal boo-boo he had just made.
(The latter two photos above are courtesy of John Paul Miguel Diaz.)
All of the contestants who warmly congratulated Pia on her win have won the hearts of Filipinos, especially those on my special mention list. In fact, one of them, Miss Bulgaria, even has a Facebook community page titled Miss Bulgaria Radostina Todorova for Miss World 2016 made specially for her by (apparently) a Filipino fan that appears to actively campaign for her to be trained by renowned beauty queen trainer, our very own Jonas Gaffud of Aces & Queens fame, so she could bring home the 2016 Miss World crown for her country. In case the training pushes through and Miss Bulgaria eventually wins the said crown, this would mark the very first time in history that her beloved country would win not only the coveted blue crown but also any Big Four crown. (For the uninitiated, the so-called Big Four beauty pageants are Miss Universe, Miss World, Miss Earth and Miss International.) This may come at the expense of whoever will represent our country at Miss World next year, but it would be perfectly okay with me and in fact I will be very supportive of it as a grateful reward for a lovely young woman from the Balkan state who came to the rescue of our beloved Miss Philippines.
Those beautiful ladies who came to support our Queen P may not have won the Miss Universe title, but with such class act they displayed, they emerged proud winners in their own right and have thus proven to their respective countries that they all made the right choice as to who would best represent them on the global stage. And well, before I know it, this entry appears to have surpassed my target length. I'm afraid I will have to cut this piece short and publish its continuation in about a week from now. For now, I would like to say congratulations to Pia Wurtzbach and all the Pinay beauty queens who once more gave honor to our country this year as well as Pia's fellow Miss Universe contestants who stood by her in her time of need. Happy new year to everyone!
Before the year 2015 comes to a formal close, I have made a commitment to write one last blog entry. I wrote this one between the 30th to the 31st of December, which are legal holidays in my native Philippines and therefore a whole lot of free time and desire for me to write this one. Let me start by saying that in one of my self-study sessions in screenwriting, I realized one important thing about being a screenwriter: I must keep on writing in order to keep myself going, lest my skills would fall into disuse and stagnation over time. This thought led me to finally make my first blog entry after goodness knows how much time has passed me by, clouded by laziness, procrastination, and any other lame excuse anyone could think of under the sun (except of course for a heavy workload that virtually sapped the life out of me).
I recall that I've promised to myself before that I'll be writing here right now about one brutal weekend, particularly October 3 to 4, wherein three of my favorite teams all ended up losing in heartbreaking fashion. First to take the fall were the undersized but gallant, overachieving Gilas Pilipinas, who dropped a heartbreaking, highly-controversial 67-78 setback at the hands of tall, athletic China in the just-concluded FIBA Asia Championship. Next to take the fall were the Ateneo Lady Eagles at the hands of UAAP rival National University Lady Bulldogs in the Finals of the Shakey's V-League Collegiate Conference. (I managed to watch Games 2 and 3 of that championship series live, and the Lady Eagles regretfully weren't in their usual deadly element without Coach Tai Bundit, who was in his native Thailand for a prior commitment that time.) Lastly, the Ateneo Blue Eagles lost to UAAP blood rival De La Salle Green Archers, although the former were able to exact revenge on the latter a few weeks later. And as if those weren't enought salt into my wounds, the Philippine Azkals lost to now fellow also-rans Bahrain and Yemen on October 13 and November 12, respectively, during their 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification efforts. The losses effectively eliminated them from further contention for one of four automatic Asian slots to the 2018 tournament, meaning the country has to wait for at least another four years before being able to see the light of that highly prestigious tournament for the first time ever.
I once contemplated of writing a separate entry for those aforementioned events. However, due to lack of inspiration and the sheer heartache I experienced from those debacles, I eventually decided against doing so. And in its place comes this entry, which is sort of a diversion from my past entries as this has something to do with a very recent event not related to sports. This is about none other than Pia Wurtzbach, the reigning Miss Universe 2015. In case I haven't informed you yet, I'm probably one of those rare straight men who is a fan of all three B's we Filipinos in general are truly passionate about: basketball, boxing, and beauty pageants. In short, I'm passionate about virtually anything that could give honor and recognition to my beloved Philippines.
This year's Miss Universe was held on the morning of December 21, Manila time. I was very busy at that time, which was why I didn't get to watch the telecast live until its latter stages. I don't see the need to elaborate on the events further as practically the whole world knows by now what transpired during the pageant's concluding stages. As I have already mentioned in one of my most recent Facebook posts, the win may have been tainted by that bit of controversy, but a win is still a win for our beloved Philippines no matter what. However, I do also feel sad for Ariadna Gutiérrez and the rest of her fellow Colombians and the close-knit Latino community in general for what happened. It's somewhat like her reaching the summit of Mount Everest, only for her to be shoved hard back down the steep slope shortly afterwards.
Perhaps out of plain curiosity and sheer interest in an event that has put the Philippines in the international news radar once again, I have been scouring through the web about the event for a few days now. By doing so, I realized that the controversy could be some sort of a blessing in disguise as it unmasked many of Pia's fellow contestants and exposed them for the bitter, jealous sore losers that they truly are behind their pretty faces. I would neither elaborate on the things they did nor name names here, and I'll just leave it up to you peeps to find them out for yourselves. Whether this hatred is rooted in racism (God forbid, this behavior is totally unacceptable in a civilized society) or just plain bitterness is immaterial. The damage has been done, and such behavior had the judges, especially Perez Hilton, claiming that they have made the right choice to have kind, humble Pia crowned as the rightful winner all along. A netizen by the username djinn123 aptly put it:
Seeing the blunder as an opening to bash the winner, all the bitter losers are crawling out of the woodwork, exposing their true colors to the world- how unprofessional, artificial, and superficial they are! Aren't we glad these women did not win?
All things being said, I would still like to give Ariadna and the rest of the competing ladies so much credit for giving our local bet one hell of a fight to make her prove to the world that she deserved to win the crown.
Moving over to the positive side of the spectrum, the controversy also served to reveal the inner beauty of many of the ladies beneath their pretty faces. The world certainly found out who among the sea of beauties are our beloved girl's true friends who served as the wind beneath her wings during the most awkward moment anyone could possibly go through. Names are worth mentioning here this time. They include but may not be limited to the following ladies I have listed below based on the information I got online. I have also linked their names to their respective Instagram accounts for my fellow Filipinos who have Instagram accounts of their own in case they would like to drop by a message of thanks to these lovely ladies for their kind gesture towards our beloved Miss. (I hope I got all of their accounts right!) Okay, ready? Here they are:
Miss Israel Avigail Alfatov, Miss Malaysia Vanessa Tevi Kumares, Miss Myanmar May Barani Thaw, Miss Mauritius Sheetal Khadun, Miss Cayman Islands Tonie Chisholm, Miss British Virgin Islands Adorya Baly, Miss Lebanon Cynthia Samuel, Miss Norway Martine Rødseth, Miss Albania Megi Luka, Miss Belgium Annelies Törös, Miss Vietnam Phạm Thị Hương, Miss China Jessica Yun Fang Xue, Miss Sweden Paulina Brodd, Miss Georgia Janet Kerdikoshvili, Miss Russia Vladislava Evtushenko, Miss Austria Amina Dagi, Miss Great Britain Narissara France, Miss Finland Rosa-Maria Ryyti, Miss Nigeria Debbie Collins, and Miss Dominican Republic Clarissa Molina.
Whew! Those were quite a mouthful to mention. There are other names here that deserve special mention. First off, I would like to commend Miss Australia Monika Radulovic, who was among those who congratulated Pia and who later revealed in a now-viral interview with Australian morning program Sunrise that just about all of the contestants knew all along that Pia was the real winner when the teleprompter said, "Philippines, please take your first walk as Miss Universe" after Ariadna was crowned. This could be the reason why there was a near-deafening silence right after Ariadna was declared the winner. But for no apparent reason, many of the contestants turned a blind eye to the truth and insisted that Ariadna is still the true winner. They even had the gall to accuse Pia, not bumbling host Steve Harvey, of stealing the crown from Miss Colombia. But when asked how come it was Pia's fault, none of them could give a coherent answer to the question. Did everyone, including the four Miss Universe individual judges, smell bitterness and mob mentality here? No wonder why all of them lost in the first place.
Enough of the negativity. Second, Miss USA Olivia Jordan is also worthy of commendation. That so-called BFF act she demonstrated when Pia was declared the real winner is priceless.
Lastly, I reserve my third and last individual commendation for Miss Bulgaria Radostina Todorova. She may have been a clapper at the pageant, but she certainly showed she is a grand winner of a friend and supporter when she encouraged a then-hesitant Pia to march to the front stage to accept her crown once Mr. Harvey revealed the colossal boo-boo he had just made.
All of the contestants who warmly congratulated Pia on her win have won the hearts of Filipinos, especially those on my special mention list. In fact, one of them, Miss Bulgaria, even has a Facebook community page titled Miss Bulgaria Radostina Todorova for Miss World 2016 made specially for her by (apparently) a Filipino fan that appears to actively campaign for her to be trained by renowned beauty queen trainer, our very own Jonas Gaffud of Aces & Queens fame, so she could bring home the 2016 Miss World crown for her country. In case the training pushes through and Miss Bulgaria eventually wins the said crown, this would mark the very first time in history that her beloved country would win not only the coveted blue crown but also any Big Four crown. (For the uninitiated, the so-called Big Four beauty pageants are Miss Universe, Miss World, Miss Earth and Miss International.) This may come at the expense of whoever will represent our country at Miss World next year, but it would be perfectly okay with me and in fact I will be very supportive of it as a grateful reward for a lovely young woman from the Balkan state who came to the rescue of our beloved Miss Philippines.
Those beautiful ladies who came to support our Queen P may not have won the Miss Universe title, but with such class act they displayed, they emerged proud winners in their own right and have thus proven to their respective countries that they all made the right choice as to who would best represent them on the global stage. And well, before I know it, this entry appears to have surpassed my target length. I'm afraid I will have to cut this piece short and publish its continuation in about a week from now. For now, I would like to say congratulations to Pia Wurtzbach and all the Pinay beauty queens who once more gave honor to our country this year as well as Pia's fellow Miss Universe contestants who stood by her in her time of need. Happy new year to everyone!
Monday, May 4, 2015
Battle for Greatness: Mayweather vs. Pacquiao: And the winner is...
After the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao bout, it's as if I'm just short of saying RIP Boxing. Quite frankly, I was disappointed by the outcome. If you've watched the bout from a more or less objective point of view and in case you're aware of boxing's long, dubious history, no further explanation is needed. For Manny, although I never really highly expected you to win, I told myself even before the fight that no matter what the outcome of your match with Mayweather would be, in our hearts you would always be the greatest. A big salute to you Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao, the fighting pride of the Philippines!
On the lighter side of things, this link to Luis Manzano's Instagram shared by one of my FB friends just about sums up Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s own version of the never-ending Chicken Run saga. Enjoy!
On the lighter side of things, this link to Luis Manzano's Instagram shared by one of my FB friends just about sums up Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s own version of the never-ending Chicken Run saga. Enjoy!
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Kathryn Bernardo: Letting that creative spark fly once more
Important note: Effective my latest blog post, everything that I post here on FB that I intend to copy at least part of into my blog will be marked with the words MORE ON MY BLOG. That's because in the last few months that I have kept a blog, I did realize the hard way that it's very diffucult to write a blog post when the inspiration simply isn't flowing. So whatever little spark comes to my sometimes-lively-yet-sometimes-lazy-or-sometimes-dead-busy mind that would prompt me to post, I definitely will here and on my blog to especially keep the latter alive and kicking.
Early yesterday evening, an unexpected event ignited a spark in me to post on this blog again. I was at SM Fairview trying to set up an appointment with a dentist for a general checkup when I had an unexpected encounter with unabashedly one of my biggest local showbiz crushes. Guess who? She is none other than Kathryn Bernardo, the so-called Teen Queen of Philippine showbusiness. She was at the aforementioned mall's entertainment center to promote her debut album Kathryn, an event that was previously unknown to me before such encounter. While her fans couldn't help but scream in delight at being able to see her and get her autograph or take a picture of her, I for one couldn't help but be amazed, though not starstruck, at the unlikely opportunity of being able to see such a true Filipina beauty in the flesh. If the late Ate Julie Vega was Philippine showbusiness' Teen Queen of the 1980s, Kathryn is definitely the one for the 2010s.
As proof of such encounter, I took a short video of her with my Jurassic-era Sony Ericsson W550i cellphone. Needless to say, the video is not necessarily of the best quality, which is one of the many reasons why I don't feel ready to share it at all. Beautiful Kathryn, who was wearing a short white dress, was several meters away from me signing autographs on the stage for her loyal fans, and I could've gotten the most out of that unexpected encounter if only I had perfect 20/20 vision. As such, I could only get a rough glimpse of her well-chiseled facial features, although I was still able to appreciate the fact that she looks just as good in person as she is in photos and publicity stills. That short encounter ended when she and her entourage exited through the mall's glass doors located to the left side of Ace Hardware store.
As short as the encounter may be, and as silly or childish sounding as it may be for some people, that encounter was a significant one for me for a few reasons. First, it taught me the value of not giving up on my dreams of someday forming my very own legendary band that would make it big not only in the Philippines but also the world over. Fame and fortune certainly weren't handed over to Kathryn herself on a silver platter as she didn't come from a showbiz family and thus had to work her way up to reach the point where she is now in a business known for its cutthroat competition. Second, I also realized that even though I may no longer be a spring chicken when I finally get to live my dream, at least there is hope while I'm still living. And third, publicity-shy as I may be, I learned that I can still choose to get out of my shell, improve my strengths and be successful in the long run. Seeing such a beautiful girl like Kathryn has constantly reminded me that my true calling, my legendary era, and the happiest years of my life have yet to come. Whether I'll be able to live up to the hype of my own creation remains to be seen as God may have other plans for me for all I know.
Thanks to that chance encounter with Kathryn, who along with fellow Pinay beauty Solenn Heusaff put the Philippines on the map of FHM UK's 10 hottest nations in the world, I was inspired to come up with a bucket list of local and foreign celebrities and even ordinary people who I would like to meet up close and personal someday aside from Kathryn and Solenn themselves. They include but are not limited to Jennylyn Mercado, Andrea Brillantes, Julia Montes, Bea Alonzo, Bea Binene, Bianca Umali, Mona Louise Rey, Vilma Santos, Nora Aunor, Lea Salonga, Megan Young, Jackie Rice, Dra. Pearl Postigo (Ate Julie's mom), June Mar Fajardo, Kobe Paras, Kevin Shields, Paul McCartney, Malala Yousafzai... Aw, bless! This list is just too long for me to put into writing here. And as I was at the mall marvelling at the beauty of one Kathryn Bernardo, I was telling her to myself that, "no matter what our differences in life orientations we may have, your Kuya Marlon still loves you very, very much. Someday, and I mean someday, we will be able to finally get to know and speak with each other. Always stay humble and be a good girl at all times."
Early yesterday evening, an unexpected event ignited a spark in me to post on this blog again. I was at SM Fairview trying to set up an appointment with a dentist for a general checkup when I had an unexpected encounter with unabashedly one of my biggest local showbiz crushes. Guess who? She is none other than Kathryn Bernardo, the so-called Teen Queen of Philippine showbusiness. She was at the aforementioned mall's entertainment center to promote her debut album Kathryn, an event that was previously unknown to me before such encounter. While her fans couldn't help but scream in delight at being able to see her and get her autograph or take a picture of her, I for one couldn't help but be amazed, though not starstruck, at the unlikely opportunity of being able to see such a true Filipina beauty in the flesh. If the late Ate Julie Vega was Philippine showbusiness' Teen Queen of the 1980s, Kathryn is definitely the one for the 2010s.
As proof of such encounter, I took a short video of her with my Jurassic-era Sony Ericsson W550i cellphone. Needless to say, the video is not necessarily of the best quality, which is one of the many reasons why I don't feel ready to share it at all. Beautiful Kathryn, who was wearing a short white dress, was several meters away from me signing autographs on the stage for her loyal fans, and I could've gotten the most out of that unexpected encounter if only I had perfect 20/20 vision. As such, I could only get a rough glimpse of her well-chiseled facial features, although I was still able to appreciate the fact that she looks just as good in person as she is in photos and publicity stills. That short encounter ended when she and her entourage exited through the mall's glass doors located to the left side of Ace Hardware store.
As short as the encounter may be, and as silly or childish sounding as it may be for some people, that encounter was a significant one for me for a few reasons. First, it taught me the value of not giving up on my dreams of someday forming my very own legendary band that would make it big not only in the Philippines but also the world over. Fame and fortune certainly weren't handed over to Kathryn herself on a silver platter as she didn't come from a showbiz family and thus had to work her way up to reach the point where she is now in a business known for its cutthroat competition. Second, I also realized that even though I may no longer be a spring chicken when I finally get to live my dream, at least there is hope while I'm still living. And third, publicity-shy as I may be, I learned that I can still choose to get out of my shell, improve my strengths and be successful in the long run. Seeing such a beautiful girl like Kathryn has constantly reminded me that my true calling, my legendary era, and the happiest years of my life have yet to come. Whether I'll be able to live up to the hype of my own creation remains to be seen as God may have other plans for me for all I know.
Thanks to that chance encounter with Kathryn, who along with fellow Pinay beauty Solenn Heusaff put the Philippines on the map of FHM UK's 10 hottest nations in the world, I was inspired to come up with a bucket list of local and foreign celebrities and even ordinary people who I would like to meet up close and personal someday aside from Kathryn and Solenn themselves. They include but are not limited to Jennylyn Mercado, Andrea Brillantes, Julia Montes, Bea Alonzo, Bea Binene, Bianca Umali, Mona Louise Rey, Vilma Santos, Nora Aunor, Lea Salonga, Megan Young, Jackie Rice, Dra. Pearl Postigo (Ate Julie's mom), June Mar Fajardo, Kobe Paras, Kevin Shields, Paul McCartney, Malala Yousafzai... Aw, bless! This list is just too long for me to put into writing here. And as I was at the mall marvelling at the beauty of one Kathryn Bernardo, I was telling her to myself that, "no matter what our differences in life orientations we may have, your Kuya Marlon still loves you very, very much. Someday, and I mean someday, we will be able to finally get to know and speak with each other. Always stay humble and be a good girl at all times."
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Tragedy: From Sydney to Peshawar
Note: This is my first post in a really long while. Work, extracurricular activities and a lack of inspiration have something to do with it. Here's hoping I could post some more in the coming days or weeks.
From joy to gloom. Just came home from a team outing when I logged on to my laptop for the latest news, only to find out that during our outing, a terrorist attack on Army Public School Peshawar in Pakistan was taking place and ended up killing 141-145 people, dampening the otherwise happy mood of my day. The dead included at least 132 children between 10-18 years of age. The siege ended after the Pakistani Army were able to kill all of the six perpetrators, who all came from the Pakistani Taliban. Such a tragic follow-up event to the Sydney hostage crisis just a day earlier.
To the perpetrators of this act of depravity, words absolutely fail me. To the Pakistani Army, kudos to a job well done responding up to and beyond the call of duty. And to those who were killed, especially the children, may God guide the loved ones you've left behind and take care of all of you in his loving arms with love lots from your Kuya Marlon. :'( <3
From joy to gloom. Just came home from a team outing when I logged on to my laptop for the latest news, only to find out that during our outing, a terrorist attack on Army Public School Peshawar in Pakistan was taking place and ended up killing 141-145 people, dampening the otherwise happy mood of my day. The dead included at least 132 children between 10-18 years of age. The siege ended after the Pakistani Army were able to kill all of the six perpetrators, who all came from the Pakistani Taliban. Such a tragic follow-up event to the Sydney hostage crisis just a day earlier.
To the perpetrators of this act of depravity, words absolutely fail me. To the Pakistani Army, kudos to a job well done responding up to and beyond the call of duty. And to those who were killed, especially the children, may God guide the loved ones you've left behind and take care of all of you in his loving arms with love lots from your Kuya Marlon. :'( <3
Thursday, September 4, 2014
2014 FIBA World Cup: Philippines 81–79 Senegal (OT)
Author's note: Watching the USA vs. Ukraine and Croatia vs. Puerto Rico games delayed me from posting this entry by a few hours. But better late than never, as it has always been said.
Yes indeed, you've read it right once more. That's not a typo. The Philippines, a.k.a. Gilas Pilipinas, have indeed finally won in the 2014 FIBA World Cup by getting rid of pesky Senegal in their final game of the tournament, but not before they were pushed to the limit for the umpteenth time...and this time passing the test with flying colors! Led by June Mar "The Kraken" Fajardo and the retiring Jimmy "The Mighty Mouse" Alapag, my two hands down choices for the best players of the game, the Philippines prevented a repeat of the heartbreaking losses they suffered against Croatia, Argentina and Puerto Rico by playing more consistent, solid defense and sinking timely free throws towards the end of the overtime period for the country's first victory in the FIBA World Cup (or Olympics) in 40 years. The victory, although a no-bearing one for both sides, triggered rapturous celebrations across the basketball-mad nation and messages of congratulations online for the team and the country from both foreign and local basketball fans alike. It also made sure that the Philippines maintains its immaculate all time win-loss record against Senegal in both the FIBA World Cup and the Olympics at 3-0 as we've also won against them in the 1968 and 1972 Olympics (the latter being our last Olympic appearance to date). Lastly, it was also a perfect send-off to Alapag, one of the great point guards in Philippine basketball history who is retiring from international basketball at the end of the tournament.
The last time the Philippines won, it was at the then FIBA World Championship on July 12, 1974, when the Philippine national team led by future PBA legends Ramon "El Presidente" Fernandez, Robert "The Big J" Jaworski and Jaime "Jimmy" Mariano won over then first-time participants Central African Republic, 87-86, in what was also a thriller of a game and their final one of the tournament held at the Coliseo Héctor Solá Bezares in Caguas, Puerto Rico. The win, which came during the classification stage, gave the Philippines a 2-6 overall win-loss record and 13th place while dealing the Central Africans their eight loss in as many games and relegating them to 14th and dead last. (Side note: While the Philippines will figure in two more FIBA World Cup/Championship stints, Central African Republic would never see the light of that tournament again to date.)
Those tense moments when the Senegalese were determined to join the likes of the Philippines' Group B group mates (and South Korea in the past) in the Philippine party poopers league by dealing the country another heartbreaking loss were reminiscent of the Croatia game, except that in this case, it was not Jeff Chan but LA Tenorio who missed the last second shot that would've potentially broken a 64-all deadlock and won the game outright for Gilas in regulation. Fortunately, despite Senegal parading an NBA star in center Gorgui Dieng and the loss of naturalized player Andray Blatche due to five personal fouls, Alapag and Fajardo stepped up big time with a little help from the rest of their teammates in making sure the country will not go home winless. I'm thinking right now that this game may have probably made Senegal realize that the team that is hardest to beat is the one that has nothing more to lose.
If it was the curse of Korea that Gilas ended in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship, then it was the curse of the lengthy, winless FIBA World Cup/Championship losing streak that they ended with that victory over the 2013 Afrobasket third placers. And they were able to ultimately accomplish both feats without the benefit of a naturalized player in the homestretch. Does it sound like Gilas performs much better and with more heart and cohesion as a team without a naturalized player then? Hmm.
The Kraken has been unleashed, but Coach Chot failed to realize it much earlier. Had he played June Mar even more from the onset, the outcome of Gilas' first four games would've been totally different. That's one of the many lessons he, admittedly the inexperienced coach, should learn from this tournament aside from having his players play aggressively and consistently at their very best all game long to win games: You can never put a great player, an MVP type, the future of Philippine basketball, like June Mar Fajardo down.
Even hours after that historic win, I'm still on a high, even though the win would still not suffice to see Gilas through to the next round. As such, I would like to stop as soon as possible before serendipity gets the better of me and lengthens this blog entry further. But as a parting shot, I would like to say that I am optimistic that, with the new qualification format to be introduced by FIBA for the 2019 World Cup (hopefully to be held in the Philippines!), Gilas will have stronger chances to consistently qualify for every tournament since, with the future merger of FIBA Asia and FIBA Oceania, a total of seven guaranteed qualifying slots will be allotted to that new confederation. No more wild cards will be awarded with the new format, so two of those four slots have been directly awarded to the future FIBA Asia Oceania confederation.
Finally, I would like to send my congratulations to Gilas Pilipinas. You saved your best for last. From mission impossible, it became mission accomplished as you ended your campaign with a bang. For sure, the world has not yet seen the last and the best of the Philippine men's basketball team. This is only the beginning. To Senegal, thank you for being such worthy opponents by pushing us to the limit.
Maraming salamat, Kuya Jimmy, sa lahat ng naiambag mo sa muling pag-usbong ng bansang Pilipinas bilang isa sa mga pinakamagagaling na bansa sa larong basketbol. Nawa'y gabayan ka ng Poong Maykapal sa landas na iyong tatahakin sa iyong pagretiro. At sa Gilas Pilipinas, mabuhay kayong lahat at nawa'y lalo niyo pang galingan ang inyong laro sa inyong mga susunod na laban sa hinaharap!
P. S. To Gilas Pilipinas, my next missions for you, should you choose to accept them, are: First, win the Philippines' first Asian Games basketball gold medal in 52 years. Second, win the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship to qualify for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where you will also perform even better than in the 2014 FIBA World Cup. And third, assist the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP; Basketball Federation of the Philippines) in lending support to our Philippine women's national basketball team so they could also at least reach the level of excellence you have already achieved.
Yes indeed, you've read it right once more. That's not a typo. The Philippines, a.k.a. Gilas Pilipinas, have indeed finally won in the 2014 FIBA World Cup by getting rid of pesky Senegal in their final game of the tournament, but not before they were pushed to the limit for the umpteenth time...and this time passing the test with flying colors! Led by June Mar "The Kraken" Fajardo and the retiring Jimmy "The Mighty Mouse" Alapag, my two hands down choices for the best players of the game, the Philippines prevented a repeat of the heartbreaking losses they suffered against Croatia, Argentina and Puerto Rico by playing more consistent, solid defense and sinking timely free throws towards the end of the overtime period for the country's first victory in the FIBA World Cup (or Olympics) in 40 years. The victory, although a no-bearing one for both sides, triggered rapturous celebrations across the basketball-mad nation and messages of congratulations online for the team and the country from both foreign and local basketball fans alike. It also made sure that the Philippines maintains its immaculate all time win-loss record against Senegal in both the FIBA World Cup and the Olympics at 3-0 as we've also won against them in the 1968 and 1972 Olympics (the latter being our last Olympic appearance to date). Lastly, it was also a perfect send-off to Alapag, one of the great point guards in Philippine basketball history who is retiring from international basketball at the end of the tournament.
The last time the Philippines won, it was at the then FIBA World Championship on July 12, 1974, when the Philippine national team led by future PBA legends Ramon "El Presidente" Fernandez, Robert "The Big J" Jaworski and Jaime "Jimmy" Mariano won over then first-time participants Central African Republic, 87-86, in what was also a thriller of a game and their final one of the tournament held at the Coliseo Héctor Solá Bezares in Caguas, Puerto Rico. The win, which came during the classification stage, gave the Philippines a 2-6 overall win-loss record and 13th place while dealing the Central Africans their eight loss in as many games and relegating them to 14th and dead last. (Side note: While the Philippines will figure in two more FIBA World Cup/Championship stints, Central African Republic would never see the light of that tournament again to date.)
Those tense moments when the Senegalese were determined to join the likes of the Philippines' Group B group mates (and South Korea in the past) in the Philippine party poopers league by dealing the country another heartbreaking loss were reminiscent of the Croatia game, except that in this case, it was not Jeff Chan but LA Tenorio who missed the last second shot that would've potentially broken a 64-all deadlock and won the game outright for Gilas in regulation. Fortunately, despite Senegal parading an NBA star in center Gorgui Dieng and the loss of naturalized player Andray Blatche due to five personal fouls, Alapag and Fajardo stepped up big time with a little help from the rest of their teammates in making sure the country will not go home winless. I'm thinking right now that this game may have probably made Senegal realize that the team that is hardest to beat is the one that has nothing more to lose.
If it was the curse of Korea that Gilas ended in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship, then it was the curse of the lengthy, winless FIBA World Cup/Championship losing streak that they ended with that victory over the 2013 Afrobasket third placers. And they were able to ultimately accomplish both feats without the benefit of a naturalized player in the homestretch. Does it sound like Gilas performs much better and with more heart and cohesion as a team without a naturalized player then? Hmm.
The Kraken has been unleashed, but Coach Chot failed to realize it much earlier. Had he played June Mar even more from the onset, the outcome of Gilas' first four games would've been totally different. That's one of the many lessons he, admittedly the inexperienced coach, should learn from this tournament aside from having his players play aggressively and consistently at their very best all game long to win games: You can never put a great player, an MVP type, the future of Philippine basketball, like June Mar Fajardo down.
Even hours after that historic win, I'm still on a high, even though the win would still not suffice to see Gilas through to the next round. As such, I would like to stop as soon as possible before serendipity gets the better of me and lengthens this blog entry further. But as a parting shot, I would like to say that I am optimistic that, with the new qualification format to be introduced by FIBA for the 2019 World Cup (hopefully to be held in the Philippines!), Gilas will have stronger chances to consistently qualify for every tournament since, with the future merger of FIBA Asia and FIBA Oceania, a total of seven guaranteed qualifying slots will be allotted to that new confederation. No more wild cards will be awarded with the new format, so two of those four slots have been directly awarded to the future FIBA Asia Oceania confederation.
Finally, I would like to send my congratulations to Gilas Pilipinas. You saved your best for last. From mission impossible, it became mission accomplished as you ended your campaign with a bang. For sure, the world has not yet seen the last and the best of the Philippine men's basketball team. This is only the beginning. To Senegal, thank you for being such worthy opponents by pushing us to the limit.
Maraming salamat, Kuya Jimmy, sa lahat ng naiambag mo sa muling pag-usbong ng bansang Pilipinas bilang isa sa mga pinakamagagaling na bansa sa larong basketbol. Nawa'y gabayan ka ng Poong Maykapal sa landas na iyong tatahakin sa iyong pagretiro. At sa Gilas Pilipinas, mabuhay kayong lahat at nawa'y lalo niyo pang galingan ang inyong laro sa inyong mga susunod na laban sa hinaharap!
P. S. To Gilas Pilipinas, my next missions for you, should you choose to accept them, are: First, win the Philippines' first Asian Games basketball gold medal in 52 years. Second, win the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship to qualify for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where you will also perform even better than in the 2014 FIBA World Cup. And third, assist the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP; Basketball Federation of the Philippines) in lending support to our Philippine women's national basketball team so they could also at least reach the level of excellence you have already achieved.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
2014 FIBA World Cup: Puerto Rico 77–73 Philippines
You've read it right. Gilas Pilipinas has sadly bowed out of contention for the knockout stage after losing yet another heartbreaker of a game to Puerto Rico after leading in the first two quarters. No matter what the result of their game tomorrow against Senegal and all the remaining Group B games will be, the Philippines will still have no more chance of advancing as two wins are needed to do so. LA Tenorio's breakout game of the tournament (18 points, which is more than his total score during the first three games combined) thus went for naught. Had Gilas won, he would've probably won the best player of the game award.
On my own analysis, I saw that Gilas already has what it takes to compete with their opponents at the world stage. Their only weakness is they don't have yet the character, the experience and perhaps the physical and mental conditioning to win games. In short, inconsistency became their own worst enemy. This is one thing they definitely have to work real hard on if they want to recapture for the country a fifth Asian Games gold medal, which we last won in 1962 during the Carlos Loyzaga era. Two lessons should be learned here by Gilas: One, play consistently and aggressively at your very best all game long, for there is no such thing as a safe lead in international basketball. Second, straight from the legendary Muhammad Ali, "Don't ever quit. Suffer now and be a champion for life." Simply put, play every game as if it were your last.
As much as I would like to blame the Gilas players and the coaching staff for the debacle that is the 2014 FIBA World Cup, it dawned on me however that in this competition, two teams had to go from each group at the end of the group stage. Unfortunately, one of them had to be the Philippines. And a 36-year absence from the world stage can really undo even the best team in the world.
As for Jimmy Alapag, Gary David and perhaps Marc Pingris, this could very well be the end of the line for them as far as their international careers are concerned. By the time the next FIBA World Cup in 2019 (hopefully to be successfully hosted by the Philippines like the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship!) commences, most if not all of them would've already hung up their jerseys. They'll be leaving huge shoes to fill, and here's hoping and praying they will be filled up by those who are talented, courageous and deserving enough to not only pick up from where these current stalwarts will be leaving off but also become even way better than them overall.
Is the loss to Puerto Rico a painful one? If you would ask me, it's both a yes and a no. Yes because inconsistency killed Gilas for the umpteenth time, and no because I haven't set really high expectations for them to begin with. Even before the World Cup started, I've already told myself that, no matter what happens, I will still be proud of Gilas as making the World Cup stage alone is already a huge accomplishment in itself. This despite the fact that Gilas benefactor Manny Pangilinan gave them marching orders to finish 16th or higher in the competiton, which is obviously no longer possible by this time. Surely, you can't win them all as they say, but you can definitely learn from your lessons from your losses and improve on your weaknesses while maintaining your strengths. Weaknesses aside, I'm still liking the way Gilas has developed through the years. All the team's hard work with Mr. Pangilinan's generous assistance is finally bearing fruit. With the way they have improved their game up to and past respectability, there is no way for them to go but up.
So to Gilas, let's go for the next highest position instead, which is 17th. My mission for you now, should you choose to accept it, is to go out with a big bang by beating Senegal tomorrow. Kaya huwag kayong masiraan ng loob, Gilas Pilipinas! Batid naming ibinigay niyo ang lahat ng inyong makakaya, bagama't kulang kayo sa karanasang manalo. Hindi pa tapos ang laban. Tatagan niyo ang inyong loob at ipanalo ang huli niyong laban bukas. Go for broke and give the Filipino nation something to smile about in the end!
P. S. At almost the same time Gilas lost to Puerto Rico, the Philippine Azkals somehow gave a wounded nation something to cheer about by winning big over Chinese Taipei to the tune of 5-1 in the 2014 Philippine Peace Cup. The win was made possible with two goals from Mark Hartmann and one each from Rob Gier and James Younghusband plus an own goal from Chen Yi Wei. They will go for a third straight crown for the country this Saturday night against Myanmar. I'll be there as the action happens!
On my own analysis, I saw that Gilas already has what it takes to compete with their opponents at the world stage. Their only weakness is they don't have yet the character, the experience and perhaps the physical and mental conditioning to win games. In short, inconsistency became their own worst enemy. This is one thing they definitely have to work real hard on if they want to recapture for the country a fifth Asian Games gold medal, which we last won in 1962 during the Carlos Loyzaga era. Two lessons should be learned here by Gilas: One, play consistently and aggressively at your very best all game long, for there is no such thing as a safe lead in international basketball. Second, straight from the legendary Muhammad Ali, "Don't ever quit. Suffer now and be a champion for life." Simply put, play every game as if it were your last.
As much as I would like to blame the Gilas players and the coaching staff for the debacle that is the 2014 FIBA World Cup, it dawned on me however that in this competition, two teams had to go from each group at the end of the group stage. Unfortunately, one of them had to be the Philippines. And a 36-year absence from the world stage can really undo even the best team in the world.
As for Jimmy Alapag, Gary David and perhaps Marc Pingris, this could very well be the end of the line for them as far as their international careers are concerned. By the time the next FIBA World Cup in 2019 (hopefully to be successfully hosted by the Philippines like the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship!) commences, most if not all of them would've already hung up their jerseys. They'll be leaving huge shoes to fill, and here's hoping and praying they will be filled up by those who are talented, courageous and deserving enough to not only pick up from where these current stalwarts will be leaving off but also become even way better than them overall.
Is the loss to Puerto Rico a painful one? If you would ask me, it's both a yes and a no. Yes because inconsistency killed Gilas for the umpteenth time, and no because I haven't set really high expectations for them to begin with. Even before the World Cup started, I've already told myself that, no matter what happens, I will still be proud of Gilas as making the World Cup stage alone is already a huge accomplishment in itself. This despite the fact that Gilas benefactor Manny Pangilinan gave them marching orders to finish 16th or higher in the competiton, which is obviously no longer possible by this time. Surely, you can't win them all as they say, but you can definitely learn from your lessons from your losses and improve on your weaknesses while maintaining your strengths. Weaknesses aside, I'm still liking the way Gilas has developed through the years. All the team's hard work with Mr. Pangilinan's generous assistance is finally bearing fruit. With the way they have improved their game up to and past respectability, there is no way for them to go but up.
So to Gilas, let's go for the next highest position instead, which is 17th. My mission for you now, should you choose to accept it, is to go out with a big bang by beating Senegal tomorrow. Kaya huwag kayong masiraan ng loob, Gilas Pilipinas! Batid naming ibinigay niyo ang lahat ng inyong makakaya, bagama't kulang kayo sa karanasang manalo. Hindi pa tapos ang laban. Tatagan niyo ang inyong loob at ipanalo ang huli niyong laban bukas. Go for broke and give the Filipino nation something to smile about in the end!
P. S. At almost the same time Gilas lost to Puerto Rico, the Philippine Azkals somehow gave a wounded nation something to cheer about by winning big over Chinese Taipei to the tune of 5-1 in the 2014 Philippine Peace Cup. The win was made possible with two goals from Mark Hartmann and one each from Rob Gier and James Younghusband plus an own goal from Chen Yi Wei. They will go for a third straight crown for the country this Saturday night against Myanmar. I'll be there as the action happens!
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