They say a picture’s worth more than a thousand words.

I don’t know why it’s such a big deal when it’s ADMU-DLSU in the UAAP finals.  I’m not from either school, and while I was from Xavier, I have no affection for Ateneo.

But every time these two schools meet in the finals, it’s always electric.  I can understand rivalries, sure.  But come on.  Even people who are neither from Ateneo nor from DLSU are going crazy over this thing.  Including me!

I remember my first ADMU-DLSU memory.  It was the Finals.. I don’t remember what game or year it was, but DLSU still had Cortez and Cardona, and ADMU already had Tenorio.  I saw the game live, with some good friends.  It wasn’t as clear as it would’ve been on TV, but the energy was something else.  I remember Cortez even had a dunk in traffic!

(Incidentally, this game changed my whole playing style.  I saw Cortez  bring the ball down, and then just pull up for a jumper at the free-throw line.  Sound familiar?)

Enough of nostalgia.  My prediction?

ADMU wins convincingly.  Why?

1. Nonoy Baclao is as good a defensive anchor as I’ve seen in a long time.
2. Rookie Buenafe is a bad matchup for any DLSU player.  He’s not GOOD, but he’s a bad matchup for anybody.
3. DLSU’s offense revolves around Casio creating and taking his OWN shot.
4. Maierhoffer(sp?) keeps shooting those threes!  WTF is wrong with you?
5. It’s hard guarding a 6-6 guy who can shoot the ball out up to 15 feet, with great finishing skills.

Ah well.  I don’t mind so much because Chris is a friend and a good guy.  But next year?  Screw ADMU haha~

Spartan training is going alright.  But maybe some alli diet pills would make this whole thing easier.  Maybe not.

Secret Love - The Blogger Formerly Known as Marc is Hot

This is a song I wrote a few years back.  Never made it to the studio with the rest of the band because we broke up before we got the chance.

Drama Drama Drama.

(more…)

Lately, my Mac’s been giving me trouble.  And when I say trouble, I mean overheating and randomly shutting down.  I’ve got no theories as to the cause.  I’m not a computer person, which is why I got a Mac in a first place!

Anyway, I’m just hoping for the best.

I’ve been trying to cut a few demos with it past few days, using GarageBand.  Yeah, I know we sort of dissolved the band, but I’ve been listening to Steely Dan, The Guess Who, and all sorts of other Jazz + Soul music lately.  It’s the kind of stuff that makes you wanna jam, man.  I need a couple of things, though.

First, I need a plug-in to plug-in my guitar to the Mac.  Also, I need a better mic.  And to soundproof the den.  And better speakers.  I wonder if I can buy cheap computer speakers online.  If not, maybe I’ll just go for a good set of earphones.

Tsk.  Reading all that, I feel like such a sell-out.  I bet Burton Cummings of the Guess Who (teehee cummings) never  complained about his equipment.  I bet D. Fagan of Steely Dan (teehee Steely Dan) will rock out, no matter what he had.  I’m a victim of capitalism!

..and now I’m blogging instead of making music.  FAN-TAS-TIC.

Visited a friend’s place the other day, and man, his siblings grew up.  The kid brother is now almost as large as I am (he’s one big 6th grader), and the baby girl just shot up.  His other sister changed, too.  And not in a bad way, or in a “oh, she looks old” way, just.. she grew up some.  Then I looked at me and my friend, and I thought to myself, man, we are getting old.

Makes me wonder what’s going to become of me when I’m some old fogey.  I actually have fears of growing older.  I don’t want the liver-spotted skin, the saggy muscles, all that stuff.  I look good now, and I want to look good forever.  And I’ve got plans.

Now some people might want to get some homecare in Alpharetta Florida, but not me.  If I’m about to go, I’m going for the gusto.  I’m going skydiving, skiing, scuba-diving, all things high-risk.  That’s the only way to go, baby.

Anyway, the whole point is, I’m getting old.  Just wanted to share.

OOH, hey, remember Voltes V?  You do?  Then you’re getting old, too. 

I like knowing.  I’m reading three newspapers daily, and Fortune and Business Week a few times a month.  I’m also hooked up to the internet like you wouldn’t believe.  But it’s just not enough.  I don’t know when, I don’t know where, and I don’t know what.. but something crazy is about to happen.  And man, I want to know.

You know what we need?  We need a whole contingent of people telling us what’s up.  I wouldn’t mind a worldwide information service where multiple sources povide the latest news.  That’d just be snazzy.  Oh sure, we’ve got the blogs and everything, but I’m talking just ONE site.  Just one place, where everybody lets you know what’s happening in their part of the planet.  That’d be cool.  

Imagine, having every single person’s thoughts online in one place for the world to see.  We’d have like a planetary consciousness, like the Zerg.  I hope they come with it soon.  Until then, I’ll stick to my Fortune and broadsheets.

Oh, and I also read one tabloid, just to see who’s cheating on who in showbiz.

Remember my post about pick-up artists?  Remember how it didn’t have a point?  Well, I remember why I blogged about it.

Ladies, be careful with whom you go home with.  There’s a community of guys who call themselves pick-up artists (LOL) going out to get laid (what else is new), and posting PHOTO reports of their lays.  On the internet.  And we all know the internet is the poster boy for posterity.  Get it?  Poster boy?  Posterity?  ANYWAY.

Just be careful, ladies.  Moving on.

I know I’m not REALLY Canadian (but seriously, no one’s REALLY Canadian.  We’re a country of immigrants!), but sometimes, I am SO CANADIAN.

I caught myself watching The Guess Who’s Running Back to Saskatoon concert on BETAMAX the other day.  Not their 2006 Running Back to Canada reunion DVD, but the BETAMAX of 1984’s Saskatoon concert.

If that’s not Canadian, I don’t know what is.

OOH, I’m assuming we all caught the ADMU-DLSU game.  It was bad.  I hate ADMU, but DLSU practically gave that one away.  Where’s the D?  Where’s the confidence?  Where’s the swagger?

If you don’t think your shot’s going in, it won’t.  People were choking.  Come on, Jack!

Ah well, Chris is a friend and a good guy, so I guess I won’t feel too bad if ADMU wins the whole thing.  Or WHEN ADMU wins the whole thing.

Oh, but DLSU’s system is.. wow.  They played three types of presses on one possession.  For those who don’t understand that, it was done in less than 8 seconds.  They started with a zone press, THEN a 2-2-1, THEN went into a man press, which caused the turnover.  Wow.

I find it really funny that I had to post a link to Wikipedia for BETAMAX.  I am so old.  And what does work holding mean?

Blogger’s Note:  While re-reading this post, I get the feeling that I’m mad at the world, or just naturally conceited.  Neither of which are true.  Except maybe the conceit part.  

And for those who asked, we were The Conceited Man Band!  I played guitar, wrote our songs, and sang some.  Plus, eye-candy.  On to my angry post!

On Friday, I’m playing basketball.  It’s going to be the first time this week, and I’m going to rock it.  I’m guaranteeing all wins and no losses.  Yeah, I said it.

I’m not even going practice til Friday.  I’ll use this week to focus on weight-training and eating well.  I think the time you spend off the court is just as important as the time you spend on it.  For example, stronger legs and more upper body strength will be my passport to more hang time.  Friday will take care of itself.

Went to a friend’s dad’s birthday/company blessing last night.  Everybody’s telling me I got thinner.  Which is something I don’t really want to hear when I’m trying to add mass.  Ah well.

You may or may not have heard about this phenomenon of pick-up sweeping the globe these days.  Popularized by Neil Strauss’ “The Game” and VH1’s “The Pick-Up Artist,” guys are now getting help in fulfilling their evolutionary purpose in life:  getting laid.  They’re armed with tricks, tactics, techniques, (cue Kanye West’s “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger, cue joke about being harder, cue THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID!) all developed to get the ladies in bed.  Ain’t that grand?

To be honest, not really.  Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not denying it works.  A few friends of mine (and when I say friends, I don’t mean myself) have field-tested the various theories and dynamics and have confirmed their effectiveness.  So the approach is revolutionary AND it works.  What’s wrong with that?

Well, it’s pretty fake.

I don’t know about you fellas out there reading this, but I don’t believe in tricks and tactics and routines.  I don’t want a checklist of things to do in my head before I get the girl.  One thing that most people don’t realize about Pick-Up, or The Game, or whatever it is they call it, is that it’s about value.  You say clever things to show value.  You dress up to show value.  The thing is, it’s not real value, not the way most people do it.

I think Mystery got it right when he said “It’s not about picking up girls.  This is about building a life.”  How about you say clever things NOT to show value, but just because you’re clever?  How about you dress up NOT to impress, but just because you’re cool like that?  Wouldn’t you rather be really confident, as opposed to be pretending to be confident?  How can you be cool if you’re trying so hard to be cool?

Just talking aloud.  There was a point to all this, but I sort of forgot.  Feel like I’m in the Twilight Zone.

(cue Twilight Zone theme)

OOH!  Why is CAT6 afraid of CAT7?  Because CAT7 ATE 9!

Last Sunday, I brought my brother to XS for his basketball semifinals game. I was looking forward to shooting a few baskets myself that bright Sunday morning, but I knew that wasn’t going to happen as soon as I saw the traffic around school.

Apparently, there was a women’s volleyball tournament happening that day, and while I would normally embrace such a situation (specifically, a gym full of women in short-shorts), there’s a proverbial ring around my finger, and can you spell “statutory rape”? Watching all these student athletes in their element, I felt pangs of regret and jealousy. I could have probably made varsity had I wanted to; if my passions had been redirected sooner. Then there would be more to me than just my rapier wit and pretty boy-ness.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see the XS team’s starting center making conversation with two volleyball players. The girls were most probably seniors and he was a freshman, but he towered over them in height. He is one of those guys who grow a full mustache at 12. It was really funny seeing these kids go at it. By then, one of the girls had her arm around him, and the other was giggling uncontrollably. And I thought to myself, “He got game.”

***

Just a little something I wrote a while back.

What I wouldn’t give for Brazil vacation packages.