Month: July 2010

PNoy State of the Nation Address 2010

guest-post-iconThis is a guest post from Raymond.

While it is very much welcome for the President to report to the people what kind of a sh*t hole the past administration has driven our nation into after nine inglorious years, it shouldn’t be the end all and be all of the SONA.

Though it seems that nothing can shock us anymore regarding the GMA administration’s wicked ways, we are still bound to be shocked by what we are about to be told, according to PNoy.

Beyond the impending shock coming our way though, what will be more shocking is if we’re going to dwell and end there. The overwhelming majority voted for PNoy because they believe that he can and will deliver the reforms we need. The SONA should indicate how people responsible for such despicable acts will be brought to justice, and what concrete steps will be undertaken to address what we are left with after the dark days of Arroyo.

If it’s mere reportage that we need, former VP Noli De Castro, with his signature voice, should have been the man. But what the people thirst for is rectification and what they clamor for are solutions.

Realistically speaking, the next six years shouldn’t promise for us a hacienda at the end of the path. Just leading us through the “daang matuwid” will already be a journey very much worth undertaking.

Would Brgy. Ginebra Appreciate FIFA?

guest-post-iconThis is a guest post from Raymond.

Why is football a long shot in generating significant fan interest and sparking a sporting revolution in the country to overtake basketball in the hearts of gullible Filipino masses?

  1. As it is right now, nothing much can be expected from our various National Sports Associations in terms of funding, support and initiative in promoting their various fields. With athletes’ cries of delayed and entirely lacking and/or undelivered allowances, what more can we expect when it comes to solid provision for local and international exposures, gears, coaches and trainers, etc.

    With this, much of the needed funds and publicity will and should obviously come from corporate sponsors and sporting godfathers. Of course, nothing comes free. In exchange for sponsorships, athletes, teams, meets and leagues serve as marketing tools and vehicles of these interested sponsors.

    If one is a marketing manager with funds at his disposal, it is a no brainer to sponsor someone and something which will be gaining media mileage and publicity, say for example a basketball team participating in tournament complete with prominent coverage in the tri-media, over a grassroots football program at the heart of an almost empty, unkept football field doubling as shelter of carabaos with nary any media attention.

  2. We have enormous successes from the RP Blue boys of youth softball, jungolfers and tennis players, note even chess wizard Wesley So. But without much fallback in the form of commercial and professional leagues, athletes are left to fend for themselves with limited opportunities in sporting fields other than basketball.

    A man has got to eat. And without a promising long term horizon in other sports, not much interest is generated and sustained in the hearts and minds of our young athletes to pursue their passion. Government pension for athletes won’t take anyone anywhere.

  3. Come up with an improvised hoop and a ball and you’re ready to go. Roads in our country can double as basketball courts easier than converting them into football fields.
  4. I don’t know if this is entirely accurate. Or I may just be hating to admit it if it is indeed the awful truth, but we Filipinos have a penchant for the “bara bara“, lack of a system, free wheeling, anything goes, “bahala na si Batman” kind of an attitude. Football being the Beautiful game, may be something that is not ready to be appreciated by our masa. For a country thriving with one upmanship, “kanya kanya“, counterflows and cutting corners, the purity of Football will surely lull the masa to a deep slumber even before the first tagay of Ginebra.

With the international success of Pacman, Bata Reyes, Django Bustamante et al, again with the private sponsors and managers funding all their stints, awareness and interest in football will remain so so in the national scale.

So, what keeps a nation of vertically challenged citizens with not much success in the international scene in the significant past still addicted to hoops? Apart from ending, point shaving and the like which adds even more spice to the game, maybe it’s because of the immediate gratification in terms of points and fastbreaks, much the same as jabs and KO punches in boxing, that fans get to experience.

I personally believe that the excitement from basketball is something that Filipinos can relate to more than the excitement and appreciation to be derived from football. We absolutely don’t have a chance winning big in basketball globally. But it doesn’t matter to the fans. James Yap’s jumpers are enough for them to get their fix of adrenaline rush. They wouldn’t care less if James Yap won’t be able to convert those same shots over foreign behemoths in various international meets.

Basketball caters to Filipinos’ impatience more than football. Are you still wondering then why lines in lotto outlets as well as lines for showbiz auditions and gameshow contestants are eternally long?

Filipinos want a quick fix to everything; and they simply won’t last 120mins. with the score reflecting 0-0.

On LBJ Jumping Ship

guest-post-iconThis is a guest post from Raymond.

Greatness and legendary status entail more than talent. The scenario here is no matter how many titles the Heat may win, LBJ would have some trouble solidly validating and cementing himself as a true leader.

But, if he can totally live with it in the guise of “it’s the team that wins championships”, then it perfectly makes sense cutting corners and hooking up with DWade & Bosh.

MJ, Magic and Larry Legend are really a different breed belonging to a different generation. We can’t totally fault LBJ because he’s just being himself. He’s too self assured (even without a ring at that) that he can afford to jump ship and think that it doesn’t diminish anything at all.

This is a different generation altogether. Remember, even KB insisted on a trade not a few times when LA was in deep sh*t and before they were able to land Gasol for a song.

My point is: True leaders will always be the last person to abandon ship; and the thought wouldn’t even cross their minds. Greatness cannot be hyped. Legends need not be hyped.

So is it just fitting to ask, “What’s there to witness?!” =)

Reposted here as it appeared in http://moncruz.tumblr.com/post/791736670/mj

World Chicken Dinner

Had dinner at the World Chicken in Glorietta 4 foodcourt last night. And it struck me that the usual long queue at the counter during that time of the night is now completely devoid.

Could possibly be because of the currently running promo over at Max’s about Chicken-All-You-Can eh?

The pictures above were taken with nothing special, my Samsung Omnia Pro GT-B7330 smartphone.