Finally...

Lord Rothgar and Zambojil.

These are two names most if not all filipinos are not familiar with. And we have our former President Ferdinand Marcos to thank for. Although his intentions noble to say the very least, his decision to ban a then well-loved and awe-inspiring cartoon show robbed more than a million filipino children from ever enjoying the battlecry “Vooooooooooooollllteeeeeeeessssss Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiivvvvvhe”!

Unbeknown to many, the names Lord Rothgar and Emperor Zambojil belong to two central characters in the Voltes V series. Lord Rothgar is better known as Dr. Armstrong, who as Rothgar is the rightful Emperor of Planet Bozania. This, had Emperor Zambojil not chosen to usurp power from him by revealing his true state of Bozanian infamy. That of having no horns at all. In a Bozanian community, as if taken from the lessons of apartheid, those who are born without horns are considered the lower classes. They who should be thrown into slavery by the supposed upper classes of the horned ones. As most of us may know, those who were able to watch the first few episodes,before FM unceremoniously booted out VV from Philippine broadcasting, Dr. Armstrong is also the father of the three Armstrong brothers Steve, Big Bert and Little John who pilot the three Voltes machines Cruiser, Panzer and Frigate respectively. Thus it is no secret that the Armstrong brothers themselves are half-Bozanian.

I am sharing these bits and portions of Voltes V all because after more than probably 20 years of waiting, finally, I have been able to finish watching the entire Voltes V saga. From the very first episode that showed the Voltes team piloting their crafts while for the very first time exiting Camp Big Falcon, together with a visibly amateurish piloting sequence(of which the clip is being used to portray their exit from Big Falcon in the entire series) to that of the final battle which ended in having Lord Rothgar installed into his rightful place as Emperor of Bozania.

There is no denying the art and the script of Voltes V then pales in comparison to the new age of cartoons today. Cheesy to say the very least. But come on, if you belong to my generation, I'm sure you'd prefer watching and reminiscing Voltes V than watch the Pokemon battles that our kids would watch nowadays. Hehehe.

Ever since I got a copy of MY Voltes V series, I was very very giddy in watching it and almost then and there decided to watch it in a non-stop marathon series. Hahahaha. Well that was what I wished for. The mind was willing but the missus was not. Hahahaha. So I proceeded to watch Voltes V in an installment basis. Surprisingly, my son Dindin also got drawn to watching this decades old cartoon series. So it became our bonding time. Every other evening, once all our responsibilities were done and taken cared of, we'd proceed to watch at least two episodes of this gigantic red, white and blue robot. He even enjoyed listening to the theme song...Tatoe arashe gahuto tomo....eeerrr...and the english version....Someday the sons of light shall fill all the earth. Hehehehe.

So after a month or so of on and off watching the Voltes V series, at last we came to the final chapter. The Solar Falcon, a combination of two Dr. Armstrong inventions, the Solar Eagle and Camp Big Falcon, led in the liberation of Bozanian slaves and the total overthrowing of the treacherous Zambojil empire. Emi couldn't help but notice my wide smile after finally completing my viewing. Hey, how would you feel when you are finally able to complete something that you've been trying to do for the past 20 years or so? Dindin began to ask me to download from the internet the MP3's of the two versions of the Voltes V theme song. Suddenly, a part of me finally felt complete.

The final episode also serves as an answer to a question which has been gnawing at us since the early part of the show. Why does Prince Zardoz and Steve Armstrong look and sound eerily alike? I'll bet you already know the answer but how and its intricacies, the final episode will answer. We already know that Voltes Lander pilot Jamie's family name is Robinson, what about Voltes Bomber pilot Mark? Its a proven fact that he's the most reclusive of all Voltes pilots and his family name only got mentioned in one or two episodes unlike the other characters. He doesn't have an outlandish name mind you, heck he even has a Philippine senator as a name relative. His full name is Mark Gordon.

I'm just happy that I finally got to complete one of the aspects in my childhood that got unceremoniously cut by a dictator whose term also got unceremoniously cut. So come on, together now, sing with me...Tanantantanaaaan-tan-tan....tanantantanaaaaan-tan-tan!

Time and again I've heard people say that whatever runs in the family will always be passed down to future generations.  When your genes beckon you to follow your calling and you opt to ignore them, one way or another the genes will prevail.

Recently, this has held true to my family.  It is a fact that I have already served as a President in my Junior Chamber International Chapter in 2007 and also as a Class President when I was an Architecture student back in college.  Emi has also served as President of the Student Council in her University of the Philippines Alma Mater as well as a Class President for her XCIX Batch in UP.  Despite our backgrounds as Presidents in various organizations, we never pushed this path on our son, Dain Angelo, or Dindin for short.  We insisted that he blaze a trail of his own and forge his own legacies based on what he is passionate about.

Imagine my surprise last Thursday evening, arriving home when he nonchalantly told me “There are two students from whom our Class President will be chosen from, and one of them is me”.  Dumbfounded was my initial reaction just looking at him eating his dinner while acting as if it meant nothing at all telling me in between spoonfuls of his meal.  He then proceeded in relaying that he was supposed to be a candidate for Vice President, but his class adviser, Mrs. Saso, who was also a teacher of mine way back when I was in Grade One, insisted that he be a candidate for the Presidency.  I'm not sure if this decision of my/his teacher was one influenced by fond memories of me being a good student back then, but it certainly showed her trust and confidence in my little boy.  He said that they would be holding elections the next day, a Friday.

I then proceeded in telling Dindin of how proud I am of this development and as a precaution told him that if it boils down to him losing the elections, nothing would be different about it.  I told him I would still be so proud of him nonetheless.  I was also very apprehensive of how he would take it if he lost, knowing that if I myself would lose, being the voracious competitor that I am, tend to become quite affected and melancholic of such a situation.  But in the end I know that my son is more resilient than I am.  He's more street-savvy and quite independent on his own account already.  Come Friday morning, as Emi was preparing to accompany him to school, I told her to explain to Dindin that there's nothing wrong in losing.  It is how we all learn.  Like I said in college; when I lost in my first try into campus politics for the USC Student Council, “In order for one to truly appreciate the sweetness of victory, one has to taste the bitterness of defeat”.  After that I won two consecutive terms as Councilor for the USC Supreme Student Council.

Dindin has always been a happy-go-lucky kid.  He enjoys life to the fullest.  A lot of people have commented how Dindin came to be dark-complexioned when both Emi and I are of the fair complexioned type.  How can he not be.  He enjoys playing in open spaces, disregarding the heat of the sun.  As long as he gets to run around and sweat like there's no tomorrow.  He adores beaches and pools.  He can stay in the water the entire day despite the heat, not minding if his skin becomes all prune-like and he ends up looking like a gigantic raisin or ending up looking like a black statue with only his teeth and eyes discernible in his physique.  As long as he's in his element.

Indeed genes have begun to make its mark in Dindin's life.  I felt that this opportunity in his life would prove to be a defining moment for him.  He's been telling both of us that he's ready to assume bigger responsibilities and is ready to become a kuya.  Hahaha.  He's resilient, intuitive, shy and quite head-strongly stubborn.  Just like his mom.  As they were about to leave for school, I gave a parting shot to Dindin; “No matter what happens, our level of love for him will remain the same”.

The day went about smoothly.  I even forgot about his elections as mid-day came and passed amid a ton of workload at the office.  Then in the afternoon, I got a call from Emi relaying the ecstatic news.  “I won!” Dindin exclaimed.  As if on cue, an overwhelming gush of pride and happiness burst forth from my feelings and I immediately insisted on talking to him.  I told him congratulations many times over and asked him how he felt.  In true Dindin fashion, he simply uttered the words “Happy” and “Fine”.  He won by the slimmest of margins, 17-16.  With the thought of him possibly voting for himself which could have resulted in the marginal vote gnawing at the back of my mind, I questioned him about him.  He flatly and forcefully replied “No”.  All the more pride swelled in me.  Hahaha.  My son has principles, honor and respect for his co-protagonist.  

Imagine, my son, at the tender age of nine in his Grade Three section, already a Class President.  Heck, the best I could muster as a Grade School Student was as Sergeant-At-Arms for our classroom.  It was only in College where my real passion of handling the leadership reins got developed.  He's starting to blaze a trail and establishing his own legacies one day at a time.  He's slowly learning how to handle responsibility and leadership at such a young age.  Emi and I have teased each other on how he can be such a bundle when he becomes a teenager.  We acknowledge the fact that Dindin is twice better than both of us.  Sometimes it scares me.  Hahaha.

As he begins to trod the path in his first foray in leadership, both Emi and I are very very confident that he'll do fine.  Like I said, as much as possible, we won't impose anything on him on how he should do things.  He will always learn by doing.  If he stumbles, he will learn to get up.  We're confident that this new mantle of leadership will steel further his character.  He's still quite shy.  Maybe as President, he will learn to come out of his shell and will learn to shine.  It is no secret that ever since he got elected, I don't shirk at the possibility of bragging how my son can now be called “Mr. President”.  We are now, officially, a Family of Presidents.

I confess.  I started playing poker and I got hooked.  Its not about the money won after the game but its about enjoying the camaraderie of friends trying to outwit and outrisk each other.

Strategy is the game.  Learning the games and the patterns of your opponents.

I just bought a 500-chip poker set at half the price its supposed to be sold for.

Now all I need are the players.  Hahaha.

Suddenly the world of Bulls basketball shone brightly.

After a very dismal season that saw them from being Eastern Conference title contenders to a team in utter disaster, the Bulls 2008-2009 season welcomed its very first taste of good luck.  Staring down a 1.7 percent chance of landing the top overall pick for the 2008 NBA Draft, the Bulls overcame the odds and somehow ended up with the number one pick.  Now they have the option of choosing between two young and top prospects in Kansas State forward Michael Beasley and Chicago-native Memphis guard Derrick Rose.

The reality still has to hit me.  I have been a very faithful Bulls fan since the first three-peat.  I endured the harsh ridicule during the mediocre "Pete Myers as Michael Jordan replacement", enjoyed the resurgence of His Airness, the poor showing of the Baby Bulls years, the much-anticipated entry and sudden exit of The 'Fro and the painful reality of this year's "It coulda' been Da Bulls".  Looking at the roster, the Bulls have it deep in the front and in the backcourt.  What is definitely lacking is the talent in the frontcourt.  Ty Thomas still has to blossom into a presence down low while Jo' Noah still has to settle his inconsistency issues.  The backcourt is steady with Ben Gordon and Kirk Hinrich.  It seemed that the Bulls had the perfect opportunity to building up from the very successful 2006-2007 season.  But then, as if the universe conspired against them, everybody had a down year this year.  Gone was the defensive killer instinct that saw the Bulls almost go into the Eastern Finals in 2007, the pinpoint shooting of Gordon was nowhere to be found, plus the distraction brought about a certain #24's whining about wanting to be a Bull certainly took its toll against the team.  It was as if the 2007-08 season of the Bulls was destined to be doomed.

And now, the basketball gods deemed that we have suffered enough.  What with the draft providing only two solid picks that could become superstars in the near future, the Bulls get first crack at selecting who gets to wear the red, black and white jersey.  In my personal opinion, Beasley is the better pick.  This would take a load off from the pressure Ty Thomas is getting to become a scorer overnight.  They already have a solid PG in Hinrich, albeit he had a slump this season, and we'd like to see the entire roster break out from their own slump when the next season opens.  Much pressure is being given to pick Chicago-native Rose but that is just it, he's a Chi-town native so automatically the Bulls should pick him?  Well of course, he took Memphis to the Final Four, but the point of the matter is, Chicago lacks the inside presence that will balance an already potent backcourt and Beasley can give that to them.  

I can still see Paxson working out trades and transactions in the coming months.  The Bulls roster that will open the 2008-2009 season might not be the roster that's there right now.  We could see veterans suddenly looking at the youth, the energy of the Bulls and would continue to salivate at the opportunity to play for one of the most successful organizations in the NBA.  What matters is that as a die-hard Bull fan, I would like to see them bounce back with a vengeance when the 2008-09 season opens.  What matters is that we got the number one pick baby.  Beasley or Rose?  To each his own.  Go Bulls.

This is the speech which my cousin Gikoy....Gian (hmmm, takes a lot for me to get used to calling him that) gave at the European Speaking Union International Public Speaking Competition.  Indeed little Gikoy...ehem, Gian has grown up to be an incredible teenager.  Like my cousin Heda, Gian's elder sister, said, it seems that we adults can also learn a lot from our cousin who's a generation younger than us.


I'll never forget that photo that showed Gikoy fitting his tiny little frame (I believe he was one or two years old then) into the travel bag that my sister brought into their house.  Now he's even taller than Uncle Santi, his dad.  Man, we are getting old.  Hahaha.  Anyway, here's the speech that wowed London and the rest of the world...

    The world may know him as Gian Dapul but he'll always be Gikoy to the entire clan.  Hahaha.  He's the son of my mom's younger sister and one of the younger generation of cousins in the Rosales clan. 

    This is the Philippine Star Article.  He has already made the family so proud just by being a finalist in this very prestigious competition, now he has made the entire country itself very very proud of this achievement.  Just goes to show that we Pinoys can make an impression to the rest of the globe aside from being just skilled workers.

    CONGRATULATIONS GIKOY!

Philippine Star
Pinoy student wins int’l public speaking contest in London

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Sixteen-year-old Gian Dapul, an incoming senior at the Philippine Science High School, won the English Speaking Union’s International Public Speaking Competition held in London last Friday.

He bested 57 other contestants representing 35 countries with his delivery of a five-minute speech on the theme “New Frontiers.”

In his speech titled “Fish Mucus and Foot Fungus,” Dapul cited recent scientific finds and expressed his desire to help his country by joining the avant-garde army of science researchers discovering new ways to enhance health and extend life spans. 

Dapul became the official Philippine representative by winning the local contest for 16- to 19-year-old students held at UP Diliman a few weeks ago.

As in the past several years, it was organized by the English Speaking Union-Philippines chapter currently headed by former Ambassador to the United Kingdom Cesar Bautista, Ateneo’s Humanities dean Dr. Marlu Vilches, and UP professor and Philippine STAR columnist Butch Dalisay.

The Philippine STAR Arts & Culture columnist Alfred Yuson chaired the judges’ panel composed of ESU-Phil officers and previous Philippine representatives to the competition, including Patricia Evangelista who first brought honor to the country by topping the 2004 edition of the contest. 

Dapul’s trip to London was sponsored by Pilipinas Shell under its country manager Ed Chua, an ESU-Phil board member, and was facilitated by the British Council Manila.

Gian was named one of 12 finalists after the preliminary heats held at Dartmouth House, ESU International’s headquarters.

The finals were in turn conducted at the American Embassy at Grosvenor Square, with Philippine Ambassador to the Court of St. James Edgardo Espiritu in attendance, together with Loline Reed, a Filipino officer of the Overseas Women’s Club who has helped the young Filipino contestants since 2002.

As the very first speaker, Gian led off the highly competitive Heat 1 with 14 other participants from the US, UK, the Netherlands, Australia, India, Hong Kong, Pakistan and China.

In the finals held later in the day, he competed against representatives, mostly college students, from Thailand, Poland, Bulgaria, Argentina, Lebanon, and China. This time he was the last speaker.

Gian reportedly impressed the judges and audience with his relaxed and humorous delivery of a substantive speech with a clear message.

Placing second was a young lady from Thailand who spoke on the need to avoid pre-marital sex, while the third-placer, from Bulgaria, promoted the use of bicycles instead of cars.

Reed recounted that the chairman of the judges for the finals, Peter Kyle, the chief executive of the Shakespeare Globe Trust, acknowledged that Gian “impressed everyone with his speech, which from the start got the audience’s attention.”

The other judges were Dame Mary Richardson DBE, who set up the HSBC Global Education Trust, and Tony Byrne, special adviser to major cultural organizations in the UK.

Reed added: “Not only did Gian speak very well, but his replies to questions from the floor were succinct and quite scholarly. One question asked of him was, ‘What does he think of the ethics of stem cell research?’ He obviously knew what to say, which should make his school proud, as he evidently knows his Science subjects, indeed!”

In November, Gian will be presented with a certificate at the ESU Awards Ceremony at Buckingham Palace by His Royal Highness, Prince Phillip, the Duke of Edinburgh. Most likely, the Queen herself will be present as well, since the English Speaking Union marks its 90th anniversary this year. 

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You scored as Nick Stokes You are Nick! Nick Stokes 100% Catherine Willows 85% Al Robbins 80% Warrick Brown 75% Jim Brass 70% Greg Sanders 50% Sara Sidle 45% Gil Grissom 25%

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I am really not sure how to describe the feeling that came over me immediately after I watched Transformers.  I didn't know whether I wanted to smile ear to ear since I finally got to watch the movie or to allow myself to scowl like an unsatisfied customer.

Of course ever since Spielberg and Bay made THE announcement to create a live-action Transformers movie, I had been sitting on the edge of my seat anticipating the arrival of the said production. As if on cue, all the memories that I cherished during my Transformers fanatic days came rushing and passing throughout my mind as I salivated while researching for every bit and pieces of news that could be found in whatever nook and cranny the worldwide web had to offer about these amazing aliens from the planet Cybertron.

I introduced Dindin to the world of the Transformers by watching episode marathons of the old cartoon shows  (My CSI routine with MM was cut short pending the showing of Season 8) and oriented him on the robotic divisions of the Autobots and Decepticons. I could never ever tire watching the cartoon movie itself. In fact, when we were still kids, call me weird but I memorized almost every single line that was in the dialog of the entire movie! From the 'Orvillus, look! Its Unicron! to the last line of Rodimus Prime (not anymore sure how it went but I think it drew on the line all are one toink). Watching the cartoon movie now still gives me the goosebumps. The perfect synergy of the soundtrack with the scenes when Optimus Prime led the cavalry against the Decepticon onslaught on Autobot City and the 'transformation' of Hot Rod into Rodimus Prime inside the belly of Unicron was always a treat.

Suddenly I grew up, my school schedules couldn't jive with the Transformers cartoon schedules and eventually I forgot about them. Of course the franchise was more than those classic cartoons as I grew to know that they indeed made shows about the Headmasters, the Pretenders, the new generation Autobot and Decepticons BUT these were only shown in Japan. I had to contend to collecting the comic books na lang.

When the Transformers movie phenomenon of the present times began to build up steam, I broadened my research of the said topic. I turned to YouTube for some serious catching up with the new generation Transformers. This was when I learned about the Headmasters and the Pretenders series (I still have my Landmine Autobot Pretender stashed here in my cabinet). As I waited for YouTube to load the several episodes available of their sites, I couldn't mask the excitement that was building up. Finally after all these years! I could watch the cartoon shows of this generation of Transformers in entire episodes at that!

But just like how we are taught to cope with disappointment in the most cruel way, my excitement balloon was quickly deflated faster than maxing out your credit card in a mallwide sale. ALL the episodes were in Japanese! Atay oi. Even though there  were English subtitles that more than often most likely didn't match what was really conveyed,

it is entirely different watching a show concentrating on the show itself than to watch the show and concentrating on the miniature letters that continually pop up under the screen ala videoke style. Hahay. Well beggars can't be choosers, right? Until someone in the English speaking countries realize what a goldmine it is to dub these cartoons, I'll just have to contend myself to these for the meantime.

Going back to the 2007 movie, subtle disappointments AND bright spots began to surface leading up to the worldwide release. Both of which managed to cancel out each other's respective effects on how my opinion would come out about the movie. That is why I am in such a conundrum.

I discovered that Bumblebee wasn't a bright yellow  Volkswagen beetle but rather was a bright yellow Chevy Camaro (the movie even showed a sequence wherein the Chevy Camaro made a swipe at the yellow beetle via a wayward door); I discovered that Optimus Prime would be voiced by the immortal voice-god actor Peter Cullen from the original Transformers series (YEAH! One shall stand, one shall fall); I got disappointed when the production hired Hugo Weaving to voice Megatron and not Frank Welker, nothing against Hugo coz I'm also a fan of his from LOTR and Matrix but it certainly brings back nostalgic memories to hear the raspy voice of the Megatron of old; I also got disappointed when I discovered that Megatron would be transforming into a

Cybertronian Ship rather than his original Walther P38 gun-mode. Logically it would have been for the better though, considering how much fear, mass hysteria, terror  and destruction a Walther P38 would incite in these modern times if you take into account that the concerned robot is bent on world domination...ZILCH; my favorite Decepticon in Starscream also makes an appearance!

As mean, ruthless and merciless as ever!

There were also quite a few items in the movie that deviated from the series, like  for example why was Bonecrusher the only Constructicon present when he comprises 1/6^th of the merry band of Decepticons that combine to form Devastator (one of the coolest Decepticons there is!).

Hay, beggars can't be choosers ika-nga. Scorponok is supposed to be one of those gigantic Decepticon commanders in the newer generations, instead, he was portrayed as a silent-bob impersonator who didn't even reveal his robotic form. Beggars can't be choosers. I can't shake the feeling also that the weapons master shown in the movie to be Ironhide should've been Trailbreaker, at least the GMC Topkick would be closer in form and color to Trailbreaker who was a black Toyota  Hilux. The only resemblance the Ironhide from the 2007 movie had with the cartoon movie was the temper! In the original series, the boy who became friends with the Autobots was named Spike Witwicky. Spike appears in the Transformers live-action film, portrayed by Shia LaBeouf and under the name "Sam".

Nevertheless, as soon as the DVD comes out,I'll purchase myself a copy. Hopefully, the sequel will come out firing and be a lot better than the first and would feature more of the Autobots and Decepticons and about their planet Cybertron. The movie was still an impressive trip down memory lane for me and another avenue for my son and I to have something in common to experience. He's now watching the original cartoon movie over and over and has begun to memorize the lines as well! Hahaha. Someday, he will inherit my treasure trove of Transformers toys. :D

It has been a while since I last wrote on my blog. Much as I would want to dig deep into myself to find the inspiration to come up with a topic worthy of my blathering, I found it immensely difficult to do so.

Then came May 1. Spider-Man 3 had just hit the Philippine shores. A few weeks back I was deep in thought trying to make a decision if I would go through my tradition of watching movies based on my favorite comic books on its first day of showing. I knew that the media hype that was creating the PR storm for the movie would immediately draw what could be the biggest crowd that would pack into Philippine cinemas. All-time biggest. What with the P120 ticket price for guaranteed seats and P140 tag for the reserved seats (plus the fact that dinner before the movie is a given), Emi and I would have to shell out almost P1K for the movie night on May 1.

I stuck my head out for the risk and purchased the tickets on D-Day itself. Much to my delight, the reserved seating tickets still had available vacancies. Good seats at that. We were seated at the balcony area, second row from the front, right in the middle of the center column of seats. Seats that you could kill for. Hahahaha. For this, I thank Arlett and Lyndah of SM City Cebu Cinemas for.

I asked Dindin to get a lot of nap time in the afternoon to make sure that he doesn't doze off in the middle of the movie like the way he did when we watched Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (I know, it has been a loooong time since we watched movies in cinemas). He promised me that he was sure he wouldn't sleep. He was waiting for the appearance of Venom (I don't know if its alarming or not, but his pick on favorite characters in comic book movies seems to fall always on the bad guys) and how his fight scenes with Spidey would fare. He didn't doze off and even wanted to watch it again!

After we watched the movie, I immediately came to a resolute decision. I have to buy the DVD(original ha) as soon as it comes out. A repeat viewing of the movie wouldn't hurt either, hehehe. I've said this before and I'm going to say it again, this is the best movie out of the trilogy of Spider-Man movies. Aside from the fact that it featured three of the webcrawling wonder's most dangerous enemies, Harry Osborn-Green Goblin / The Sandman and Venom, it wove a story that most of us could relate to. Sam Raimi truly depicted that even heroes could be human themselves. Heroes also have the possibility of falling into the quagmire of having their decisions clouded by the affairs of emotion. Heroes are also capable of making mistakes. And yes, heroes also break down into tears when they lose someone that they love and care for (who did Spider-Man lose? P120 would tell you that. Hehehehe).

The movie was also filled with humorous scenes that were well-interpreted by the actors involved. I have to give kudos to the actor (forgot his name) who filled the part of James Jonah Jameson. He emulated what JJJ was like in the comic book with his incredible portrayal of JJJ's legendary temper with those wide eyes and cigar chomping to boot. I'm sure a lot of Spider-Man comic book enthusiasts would agree with me on this point. There was also the French maitre'd who, if movie-goers remember, was the usher who turned Peter away during MJ's theater run in Spider-Man 2. This guy once played Brisco County, Jr. in an extinct cowboy-comedy TV show and I'm betting he's making a comeback via the bigscreen and what better way than to do it in the Spider-Man movie franchise? He certainly did his part justice during that sequence in the restaurant. Then came Tobey Maguire's romp into the Saturday Night Fever dance sequence in the middle of the movie. Who would've thunk that a geek and nerd like Parker had those moves in him?! Hahaha! If you ask me, in more ways than one, the symbiote also benefited Spidey in some aspects of his life. Hehehehe.

As in tradition, Stan Lee made a cameo appearance once again. This time on a larger scale, he actually had more lines! Maybe one man COULD make a difference....and he ended it with his all-time trademark line...'NUFF SAID! Whooo! Brings back the memories! I'm not sure if a lot of viewers saw that line as significant, but to true comic book and Spider-Man enthusiasts, it was a stroll down memory lane. You see, before(I'm not sure if he's still doing it now), in a lot Marvel comic books, particularly Spider-Man, Stan Lee always had a literary column inserted into the final pages of the publication, a sort of editorial kumbaga, and on these pages he would express his thoughts, the upcoming developments on the comic book, his answers to fan mail etc etc. Always, at the end of these writings of his, prior to signing in his name, he'd end it with 'Nuff said!

Apparently, a few years ago, Marvel was on the brink of bankruptcy. The comic book industry was not as alive as it was in the 80's and 90's. As far as my personal opinion would matter, the prices of comic books have rose to alarming levels that their primary market, the kids, are having a hard time buying these already! When I was a kid, we could buy comic books for P30 a piece. All five of us brothers were so up to date in our respective collections and these were considered cherished possessions. We knew that one day, our comic books would become collector's items! What about now? You couldn't even buy a hot off the press comic book for P100 unless they were on sale or a few months old na. Going back to the main point, Marvel was losing money. Then the comic book-movie phenomenon happened. Movie production companies began snatching up scripts based on well-loved comic books and these made Stan Lee and his partners richer by the year. X-Men, Blade, Fantastic Four, Spider-Man etc. etc. Get this, on the first day of showing of Spider-Man 3 in the Philippines alone, the wisecracking wallcrawler immediately raked in a whopping P58.6 million. ONE DAY. Biggest ever 1^st day opening gross in the history of Philippine cinemas. BIGGEST ALL-TIME. Since the opening of the first Spider-Man movie in 2002, the franchise has amassed a total of $1.6 billion of sales worldwide, one of the most successful, if not the most successful movie franchise ALL TIME.

I have worshiped Spider-Man since the first day I got hold of my older brothers' comic books and somehow, call it ignorance and childhood awe, it seems I even “liked” that cheesy live-action Spider-Man TV show that aired in the 80's(remember those eye-holes in his mask peppered with so many tiny peepholes? yeetch). I even have a scar on my forehead that came as a result to my Spider-Man imitation when I was a five-year old kid. I was climbing the window grills that we had kai Spider-Man lagi ko, lost hold of my balance, slipped and hit my noggin' on the corner of our sala centerpiece. It was a hell of a painful experience, requiring stitches but it never shook my devotion to the web-slinger. At least once in my life I became Spider-Man(boy) hehehehe.

All in all, Spider-Man 3 is a movie I would highly recommend for your entire family to watch. It is a fictional movie based on a downtown geek who is bombarded by the basic daily problems we all face, gets blessed or cursed(depending on your point of view) with abilities that allows him to do what a six-foot tall human spider is capable of, sees him get drawn into a false sense of illusions of grandeur, lose those who he cherishes the most, realizes his mistakes and saves the day before everything is lost forever. The movie also give insights to those who are in a relationship and are looking forward to taking it to the next level and how important a decision they have to make could change the rest of their lives. How a man should always put his self interest at the backseat for the greater good of all. Making choices is a standard staple in our lives, whether it is a good or bad decision, what matters is whether it is the righteous path to take. It also allows friends or barkadas to see the value of friendship and how we should cherish this. Friendship is never a question of who you are loyal to, it is whether you know how to accept the decisions your friends make; if it is the right choice, you support them; if it is the wrong choice, you have the guts to tell them their mistake and whether you can learn to receive them with no reservations once they realize that they were wrong.

Unless Sam Raimi, Avi Arad and Stan Lee could draw up another blockbuster story that would be a sensational follow-up to the 3^rd installation of the Spider-Man franchise AND the actors involved would allow themselves to be included in the next sequel, something that would do justice to the success of Three, I'd like to rule out a fourth. I wouldn't want this franchise to go the route the same way the first Superman trilogy went when it launched Superman IV. Spider-Man has already endeared himself to the billions of movie-goers. It would be nice to keep it at that. Fantastic Four:Rise of the Silver Surfer and Iron Man(Can't wait to see these!)are coming up, maybe the Marvel mogul would seriously consider the Avengers as his next project, till then...'NUFF SAID!

It has been about 11 years already since I got hooked to what is called worldwide as the JCI movement. But in truth, my first taste with what Jayceeism is all about dates back to my 4th year in high school at University of San Carlos Boys' High (now called USC North Campus). That makes it about 14 years already since first I got wind of what JCI is about. Most of my friends became part of the USC-BHS Commission for the USC Junior Jaycees. At that time, in truth I didn't have the slightest inkling to joining the group even if most of those who composed the commission were my barkadas. Little did I know that among my friends, I would be the one who would end up getting really involved with the movement, hook, line and sinker.

Another three years would pass until I would hear about the Junior Jaycees. It was during Intramurals 1995 when I was invited once again to join the USC Junior Jaycees. You may probably laugh at the reason why then and there I wanted to join the Jaycees. And what average, hot-blooded male could ever say no to several beautiful ladies entice you to join their organization? Hehehe. Exactly. I joined the Jaycees because of the chicks. Perhaps it was because of divine providence that this was the start of what could be a paradigm shift in my direction in life. I began to join the activities, involved myself in projects, get as much training I could be taught from. Next thing I knew, I was running for a seat in the University of San Carlos Supreme Student Council, losing on my first try but winning two consecutive terms the following years. I became batch President for our class in Architecture. Became Vice President for Internal Affairs in the Architecture Council. Becoming Vice President for External Affairs in the Butuanon Council at USC. I could go on and on and on. The positions that I was able to be elected to may have been very diverse but one thing is for certain, it was because of the time that I spent with the Jaycees that I was able to hone my skills that became necessary for me to fulfill the obligations brought about by these elected posts.

Being selected as the Most Outstanding New Member for the Visayas in the Phil. Junior Jaycees was just icing on the cake as I know I had more to thank the Jaycees for than the movement having bestowed on me such an honor. From the absurd reason of joining the movement because of female pulchritude, my Jaycee life began to unfold like a maelstrom of achievements. The peak of my Junior Jaycee life reached to the point when I became part of the National Officers, serving as the National Secretary General for the FY 1999-2000 after having served as Visayas Area Secretary General prior to that.

Meeting Emi is also something that I could indirectly attribute the Jaycees for. Why? If not for the Jaycees, I would not have prepared myself to vie for a post in the Student Council, if not for my stint in the Student Council, I would not have met Emi. That is probably why I am ecstatic to have her join me as a member of JCI Cebu-Mactan Channel. Emi is considered as my pillar in life, she's the one who's always ready to keep me grounded to earth and quite also the motivator who could make me soar to the high heavens with her words of affirmation.

In 2001, already a professional and hard at work at that, my good friend and mentor Vee Abellana invited me to join the regular Jaycees. Still feeling the pressure of doing good in my professional career, I hesitantly agreed to his invitation. Vee was the NVP Visayas and the National President of the Junior Jaycees when I served as the Area SG and the NSG. I am quite indebted to him because with the belief and trust that he strongly placed squarely on my shoulders, I was able to refine several skills that I had already learned. With this also, I was able to develop myself and grow into a role which was not be taken lightly since the scope of its jurisdiction already involved the regional and the national areas. Thank you, Vee.

Unfortunately, my venture into the regular Jaycee arena encountered several road blocks and hindrances. Call it a massive case of culture shock but what I had experienced during the first few months involving myself as a regular JCI member made me long for what I had experienced as a Junior Jaycee. All the more did this realization slap me silly like a rag doll when I saw first hand how politicking had wantonly disgraced what was supposed to be an honorable and respected organization. An organization for which I have attributed my leadership and personal development to. Thus I left with a heavy heart.

Exactly a year ago, Cerwin Eviota called me up to invite me over to a cup of coffee at one of SM's tenants. Being the coffee junkie that I am, I met up with him. With a unique blend of marketing his product, which came to be known as a new JCI Local Organization, he invited me to serve as the Secretary for the year 2006 for this newly-formed chapter. Still reeling from the scars brought about by memories of politics ruining the natural strengths of JCI, I was again hesitant about it and asked that I confer this with Emi first. Surprisingly, Emi told me to go for it, provided that she also join me in the movement to forever put to rest her nagging questions about how and why I am so passionate about JCI. Thus a new chapter in my JCI life began to unfold. Exactly a year has passed and this was what the new chapter, JCI Cebu-Mactan Channel had to show: from the Visayas Area Conference: Most Outstanding New JCI Chapter, Merit for Best Community Development Program - "Big Brother, Big Sister" and Joint Work by JCI Chapters - "Tabang Southern Leyte," and Recognition for Membership Recruitment Program - "Let's Have Coffee," Chapter President in Cerwin Eviota, Current Member - yours truly, and New Member - Jolex Lim, who was also the Public Speaking Champion, with Marlon Polinar as 2nd Placer. For the 58th National Convention: Merits for Most Outstanding New JCI Chapter and for Best Community Development Program - "Big Brother, Big Sister, Good Neighbor" and Recognitions for Best Membership Recruitment Program - "Let's Have Coffee + Last Quarter S.T.O.R.M." and Most Outstanding Chapter President (Category III). Quite a story, right?

Now came a pivotal turn of events, in what came to be known in my blog 'Not expecting the expected', I was elected as the 2007 President for my beloved JCI Cebu-Mactan Channel. Here I was, 11 years after joining the JCI movement because of the chicks. An incoming President for the year 2007 for a chapter, despite its infancy already has a rich history of achievements and awards.

Quite a tough act to follow. But somehow, there's something inside me that diffuses the fear and apprehension that comes with the position that I was elected to. Nobody has put it so much better than Ernest Evangelista, a good friend of mine dating back to USC-JJCI and of whom I consider also as a mentor. He said, having gone through the basic trainings and honed yourself during your Junior Jaycee days, being a regular JCI member would be just like a walk int the park.

Being President. They say that when one decides to become a member of regular JCI, they're primarily in it because of the connections, the entrepreneurial opportunities and all that business related reasons to it. Honestly, I am in this because of my love for the movement and my desire to improve myself further as a person and as a leader. Being President is merely more than its title. Being a President is knowing when it is your place to be a leader and when it is your place to be a follower. Being President is not to lean more to what is a politically-sound decision but to lean more to what is the right decision. Being President is not allowing yourself to be swayed by those who believe that because of their years of experience, they have more right to say what should be done and what should not be done. Being President is to be a leader. One who will always believe that there are decisions to be made, good or bad, as long as they are the right decisions and have the guts to live by them.

I owe JCI more than most people think and believe.

It's high time I give my payback.

Life indeed has a funny way of treating you when it comes to situations that you know is expected but somehow in the deepest darkest regions of your mind still seem unexpected. They can really knock you silly off your feet.

Never did I expect the past day to turn out as it had unfolded before my very eyes. I went about with what seemed like a clockwork routine at home and work. Help get Dindin ready for school. Accompany Emi and Dindin get a ride to school. Get ready for work. Work in the office with the same gusto and vigor as the first day on the job. Get a ride to the place with which you had an arranged meeting with your colleagues in an organization. Exchange a few pleasantries. Go home.

Now that was what I had in mind in what I had to do during the day. Everything went smoothly from getting Dindin prepared for school until the ride to the meeting. Then a slightly unexpected twist came to play. You know how funny your mind seems to go into overdrive when what was supposed to be planned in a year's time suddenly fast-forwards itself leaving you in the dust asking yourself "What just happened?". Now, what your were supposed to have planned to be doing two years from today suddenly becomes what you should be doing today. Nyek, talk about jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire with total conviction. Hahaha.

It's already 2:10AM on my clock and my mind is still reeling from what had just transpired. I am still wired. The feeling still has to sink in. What was supposed to be a fellowship night after the meeting turned into a self brainstorming activity to me as I still had to get out of the state of shock that I was experiencing and at the same time process everything that needs to be done yesterday, today and tomorrow. As Cerwin had told me trying to read my mind "What the hell did I just get myself into?".

And yet, despite everything that has happened, not expecting the expected, somehow there is a glimmer of excitedness on my part looking at the extremely bright future that is being wished to be carved into stone, that in the future, could be looked back and be seen as one of the most successful moments in my personal history.

Life could be so frustratingly and surprisingly unpredictable. That's what makes it all the more meaningful to simply exist.

You can never have too much of a good thing.

I've just had the pleasure of watching Superman Returns on its first viewing night here in Cebu.  A few weeks back I already knew I'd like this movie after seeing the teasers and the subsequent trailers that would follow it.  What with Bryan Singer deciding to use the original score masterfully crafted by John Williams in the last four Superman movies.  Much as I would hate to admit it, about a year ago or so from today, I was a bit skeptical about the newcomer Brandon Routh portraying the Man of Steel after having seen Christopher Reeve achieve an iconic status playing the role in the aforementioned four previous movies.  I knew that Christopher Reeve was going to be really a tough act to follow.  After receiving news that Nicolas Cage was originally selected to fill in the extremely big boots of Reeve in the red and blue costume, I didn't know whether I'd laugh at a the decision to cast the balding Cage with the 'God give me some sleep' expressionless eyes to don the red cape or whether to cry at the impending doom the movie or the franchise had dug for itself for selecting such an actor.  Call it relief when I heard the news that the project, originally titled as 'The Death of Superman' (obviously riding on the epic comic book series that came out a few months back then) was scrapped since the producers and the original Superman creators Siegel and Shuster couldn't agree on almost anything.  Phew!  Then it was learned that Warner Brothers had taken up the cudgels to make the film and brought in successful director Singer to do the project for them.  I understood that Routh was the first and only choice Singer had to portray Kal-el.  When the first still shots of the movie came out showing Routh in the red and blue suit, I immediately thought to myself that this guy could never manage to match the way Reeve had portrayed the role.  He was too thin and had too long of a face to achieve at least a few similarities to the Superman face that Reeve had already etched into the very fabrics of our minds.  Plus, the costume was all wrong!  Superman's yellow belt didn't have the S-shield as a buckle!  The boots and the cape were in bright red color, not maroon-ish red!  The S-shield on the chest was supposed to cover nearly the whole of the chest area!  Egad!  What would happen to this movie when it's gonna be shown the general Superman fanatics fan clubs?!

Fortunately, after giving Singer, Routh and the rest of the movie the benefit of the doubt, eventually I proved to myself that first impressions never really last.  Hearing what was made to resemble the voice of Marlon Brando and using the original Williams score further piqued my interest that this could be something else.  Also, if you look at him closely, Kevin Spacey does have the eerie resemblance to Gene Hackman, another plus for the movie.  Doing something new but always giving tribute to the traditionalists' point of view. 

As we already settled in our seats, the movie began.  Lo and behold, not only did Bryan Singer give a heck of a tribute to Williams and Brando, but he really gave it all as he opened the movie with the same style that all four previous Superman movies produced by Alexander Salkind had!  With the flying text and the journey through space opening credits and with the Williams score blaring from all directions, I couldn't resist registering a wide smile!  It was heartwarming to see that Singer really gave tribute to the first four films and what a better way for him to give honor also to Christopher Reeve who really did the Superman role justice.  I'm pretty sure Reeve must be smiling ear to ear up there.  I was just a kid when I first saw the Reeve Superman movies and after seeing that kind of an opening from the new movie, it gave me goosebumps thinking how I felt that day in the past seeing one of the greatest super heroes of our time getting immortalized on film.  Routh also did his homework, from the way his Clark Kent conformed with the way Reeve's Clark Kent would have acted to the way he carried himself wearing the red and blue costume to the way he made the ladies in the cinema swoon and shriek looking at those baby blue eyes, I'd say he passed this baptism of fire of his with flying colors, red, blue and yellow literally.  Singer also inserted several aspects into the movie that were shown in the previous installments and other Superman memorabilia, like the one where Kent and Lois Lane find themselves stuck in the same compartment in the revolving doors of the Daily Planet, this was also shown during Superman 1.  The way Superman carried the speeding car and setting it down in such a manner that was also reminiscent of what was shown in Action comics #1 where Superman made his first ever appearance to the world.  Another one is when Superman saves the airplane of which Lane is a passenger of, not many people might know this but this was also how Siegel and Shuster portrayed in the comic book the first meeting between the Man of Steel and Lane.  Something out of the TV series Smallville was also used by Singer as to how Superman's heat vision would come out of his eyes is similar to how it came out of Clark's eyes in the TV series.

The movie opened up using the same sequence that the first four installments had and although I was so sure that the same ending would also be used, it was still eye candy to see that Singer followed sequence per sequence of what was used when Routh, as the Man of Steel would fly out into the earth stratosphere, do a 360° turn while flying towards the sun, camera pan to the front of Superman and see the Man of Steel put his arms parallel to his torso, look at the screen and smile before flying away off-screen.  Pure Christopher Reeve given justice by Routh.  

All in all, Singer and the entire production team and cast came up with a movie that reminded us how Superman had evolved and how we came to love him.  From the comic books to the movies themselves.  Routh also gave an explosive tribute to Christopher Reeve by not straying too far how Reeve had portrayed the Man of Steel.  Spacey was also as captivating a character as he perfectly seemed to take off from where Gene Hackman had left portraying Lex Luthor with the same guile, gusto and passion as Hackman had so many years ago.  Although the movie was more of focusing on the re-emerging love story that Kal-el and Lane has and it lacked the intense action-filled scenes of Superman II (although the SFX left much to be desired back then), it still packed a wallop as several surprises seemed to pop out from the script that was neither seen or heard of in previous Superman history, comic and movie (you can also throw in TV in there).  The movie would entrap your imagination and would repeatedly harness your interest, as it has been more than a decade since we last saw the streaking red and blue on the big screen.  The movie was even quite obvious that there will most certainly be a sequel.  One of which I am already, as early as now, anticipating to be another blockbuster movie and one of which I couldn't wait to see.

Like I said, you can never have too much of a good thing…Up up and awaaay!

June 21, 2006, 9:34PM

 

Shaq delivers.  Wade immortalizes himself in NBA Finals history.  An arrogant owner finally gets his just desserts and finally a pair of aging veterans worthy of Hall of Fame recognition finally reach basketball Mecca.    What an NBA Finals it has been.  It's been awhile since I got riveted to such.  Ever since Michael Jordan nailed that jumper to win his sixth and last NBA championship in the Finals of '98, in as much as a basketball fanatic that I am, the last few NBA championship series never really caught my fancy.

 

I've always rooted for the underdog.  And in this 2006 NBA Finals series, it was evident that Miami was THE underdog.  It's quite evident in the office where I'm connected.  Out of the several basketball followers there, I'm really the only one who rooted for Miami as most of my colleagues went with the tiger-on-paper Dallas Mavericks with their supposedly bottomless bench and their own German Panzer in Dirk Nowitzki.  I've always liked Shaq.  He's the big teddy bear that obviously parades himself as an NBA center.  When he got traded from the Lakers a few years back, I told myself it's for the better.  I didn't think Shaq could've won another championship at la-la-land especially since that poker-addict of an owner in LA decided to stick it out with that whatzisname of a ballhog.  When Shaq made his bold announcement to the Miami faithful that he'll be bringing in Miami's first championship in the near future, I never doubted him for a minute.  Lo and behold, the Big Diesel finally delivered on his promise.  Alonzo Mourning finally got what he deserved so much after battling a career-threatening kidney disease.  His was really quite a story to follow.  It was something worthy of being portrayed in a feel-good movie about playing throughout countless adversities.  Gary Payton's another veteran who's worthy of that elusive championship.  I'm sure Mourning and Payton would've settled for dirt-cheap pay in the league as long as at the end of the season, they'd be part of the team that would be partying all night long clad in shirts and caps that would say NBA Champions.  Aside from Mourning and Payton, who I'm sure would be worthy of having their names immortalized in Basketball Hall of Fame when they retire, Miami also had a share of veterans that were also in search of their first ever NBA rings.  The likes of Antoine Walker, James Posey, Jason Williams, Derek Anderson and Shandon Anderson were a sight to behold during their prime but I'll bet they would never trade the season that they've had this year for any of the seasons that they've already had in their NBA careers.  And oh yes, let's not forget journeyman Michael Doleac finally getting a ring after bouncing around so many NBA teams in his career.

 

I know Shaq and Kobe already made peace during the last All-Star Game but wouldn't it be just right for the Diesel to say "I told you so" to Bryant, who allegedly was a factor in getting O'Neal traded to Miami?  If the world was just right, it wouldn't be wrong for Shaq to continually brag to Bryant and Jerry Buss, the owner of the Lakers.  Surprisingly, Shaq never really was as dominant in this Finals series as he had been during his Laker days.  But I'm pretty sure his presence on the Miami lineup was enough to finally rope in the 2006 championship in this Finals series.  And I haven't begun with Dwyane Wade yet.  What a performance this Finals series has been for The Flash.  I don't have the exact numbers but I'm pretty sure his average was between 35-40 points per outing in those last four games and dumped more than 34 points per game on the Mavericks’ faces throughout the series.  Jordanesque numbers if you ask me.  And he was playing hurt most the time after getting his shares of black and blues after that surprisingly quick Eastern Conference Finals series with the Detroit Pistons.  Only 24 years old and already an NBA champion with an NBA Finals MVP trophy safely tucked under his belt.  This kid's star has only just begun to shine. 

 

Somehow, I never felt sorry for Dallas' loss.  Yes, they were clearly impressive in winning all of those road playoff games, especially after eliminating the defending champions San Antonio Spurs on hostile territory.   But, somehow, down the line, if you look beyond their basketball skills and in my own opinion, Dallas got too overrated.  From their supposedly bench depth down to their high scoring high octane game.  If only Dirk Nowitzki didn’t taunt the opposing team so much with that ugly mug of his after making big shots, if only Avery Johnson didn't continually whine about how his team got the shorter end of the deal after one of his players got suspended in the middle of the series, if only Stackhouse didn't act as if nothing happened after he nearly karate chopped Shaq's head off, if only Mark Cuban simply decided to keep his mouth shut and let the league handle matters on their own without his incessant ranting and whimpering, maybe, just maybe, how I looked at Dallas could just be a little bit different.

 

If the Miami lineup can continually gel and reach that infallible trust between the members of its roster, I'm sure we'll be seeing more of them in future NBA Finals series.  Can anyone spell D-Y-N-A-S-T-Y?

So much has been said and so many has transpired that is related to the worldwide phenomenon that is now known as the Da Vinci Code mania.  Left and right, you hear and see critics trade tirades and debate as if there is no tomorrow about the implications of what the fictional novel intend to portray. 

 

I have had the opportunity to read the Da Vinci Code way before this achieved global fame.  It was during the year 2002 when I was scheduled to leave for Manila for a one month tour of duty in the Manila office of Golden ABC, my then employer.  Emi gave for me a 'baon' of several books which included the Da Vinci Code.  Her subtle way of telling me, 'after office you better have your ass back at the staffhouse burying your face in these books instead of cavorting in different Manila locations'.  Fortunately, I never had the inkling of going around Manila during my trip there for several reasons: One, I only had a per diem allowance of P150.00, which would probably be used up only for one meal, considering the shit-high cost of living in Manila; Two, I could never stomach the traffic conditions in most of Manila's streets, hey a funeral procession here in Cebu could probably outrun the rush hour traffic there; Three, hell, a probinsyano trying to go aro