in retrospect…

WARNING: a loooonnnggggg post… really…

i am sure, after my post on how to set up a blog using free providers like Wordpress and Blogspot, thousands of you trooped to those sites mentioned and created your own blogs… i am also sure that, by now, you’d have learned the limits of these free blogging sites… like, you can only customize the theme so much… like, you have a favorite plugin but you cannot install this in your new blog… like, you created a photoblog, only to find out that your particular blog has a limit in terms of hard disk size… or many others that, although you can live with them at the start, but you find restricting as you go along…

so what do you do?? well, for a little amount of money and a little patience, you can now start your own blog using your own domain, can have as little or as large hard disk space as you’d want, and put in as much content as you can think of…

how do you go about doing it?? read on and find out…

when was the last time have you been a good samaritan and helped a complete stranger — whether it be an old lady trying to cross a street, a blind person asking for directions, or helped a hobbled person down a long flight of stairs — only finding out sometime later that you have been conned??

in this episode of the The Real Hustle, The Good Samaritan, it shows how an unsuspecting samaritan can be scammed out of his wristwatch simply because he was asked to help…

though the video was set in Europe, the same can be true here in the Philippines, with the Pinoy’s penchant for helping those who are seemingly helpless… i am not saying, though, that one shouldn’t help… just that one should also be aware of what is happening around him…

there are several other episodes which also can happen here… there is the Pick Pocket, the WiFi Scam, and the Cash Machine [or ATM] Scam…

go take a look at them… scammers may have found these videos a long time ago, and are now preparing the same scams… you just wouldn’t know what to look out for…

Ciao, sweetie…

went to the Google search page to find something when i noticed this header image, possible meant for V-Day [no dear, v is not for vagina but valentine's... tsk tsk tsk]… what the hell is a Googe??

searched it, and found several seemingly non-related links, mostly names of people…

tried searching for googe.valentines, no related sites at all… googe.chocolate, yes, that second g is a chocolate, none there, either… images? nope… videos?? nuh-uh…

after poking around a bit and finding nothing, i finally went to news and found out that at least one other site noticed this, too…

WTF??

what’s wrong, Google??

Ciao, sweetie…

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY, everyone!!

don’t do what i wouldn’t do…

nope, not the ones he wear during his bouts, but short stories gathered last night about Manny…

in Pacland, a website dedicated to Manny and his fights, is a poll asking whether you are in favor of Manny entering politics or not…

out of the 2520 who voted, 89% said no, 7.4% voted for I don’t care, and only 3.5 voted for yes… i know 2520 people is a small enough number not to matter, especially in GenSan where computer encroachment may even be lower than that number, but doesn’t this tell you anything??

…and whatever happened to the bickering between Golden Boy Productions and Top Rank?? if you can remember, he signed contracts with both promoting companies… a bad case of team management, perhaps??

…do you still remember that court battle between Joanna Rose Bacosa and Manny for child support?? has anything happened to that or did someone pay it off?? hmmmm….

…finally!! mainstream media finally noticed our efforts to stop Manny from running for a public office…

…and lastly, from boxingconfidential.com, Michael Marley wrote who should be Mayor Manny’s acceptance speech if in case he choose to run for mayor of GenSan… really funny stuff, but ironic… it may just be a speech designed to initiate laughter and make light of his decision to run, but it hits the nail right on the head on why he must not…

…this early, he is already showing signs of “traditional politician-ism” by switching sides even before he joined the first one… he was supposed to join GMA’s KAMPI, but changed his mind and instead joined Manila mayor Lito Atienza’s LP… oh no… ang aga naman, Manny??

that’s it?? yep… that’s all of it… for now…

Ciao, swetie…

bjmaduro today commented on politics is not for you, Manny but it gave me a very big headache simply reading it… i am not in the habit of giving advices to my commenters, but i’d make an exception to this one…

you may have valid points in your comment [and indeed, you have], but it would have been easier on the eyes if you’ve used paragraphs… the ENTER key is right there by your right hand, use it!!

ok, now that we have that out of the way, let us dissect this very long essay and answer it point-by-point… [you can find the comment here]

why stop manny on seeking a public office? it is manny’s decision and not yours. he worked hard to reach where he is now. give him a break.

but i am not stopping him to run!! that is still his final decision… all i am saying is that he has no business to run for office… and he worked hard to win boxing bouts, not political bickerings… although both can be vicious, only politics can leave mental scars…

what i am asking is for him to reconsider [read: pleading]

the man thinks and decides by himself without being influenced by any person. what he does he decides and no one influenced him in doing so. the man unfortunately lacks education but this is the time for him to prove that even those who were not educated can lead and make progress in his hometown of gensan. why impose your idea on the man?

…not influenced, you say?? c’mon, the man is so popular he reeks with it, it oozes out of every pore of his skin, and everyone touched by it cannot help but be dizzy… and who was teh first politician who touched him?? Manila mayor Lito Atienza was the first, and Atienza asked him to run for vice mayor of the city, maybe, just maybe, Manny considered, that was why he transferred residency in Manila… you call that not influenced?? before LAKAS people approached him for the May elections, i don’t think he has any idea that he’d be running for mayor of GenSan… but now??

you are delusional dreaming, my friend, if you think the reason Manny wants to run is to simply to help the people of his province… and i am not imposing… merely suggesting… i don’t have authority over the man to impose anything…

can you not accept the fact that manny is going to overshadow most of you who are educated if manny wins a public office?

doing what?? lawmaking?? again, this is pure delusion shit filth dreaming, for want of a better word, if you really believe this… the man has no formal education in politics, no lawmaking capabilities, no human resource skills, and no management craft to speak of… what can he do in government?? he will only be eaten alive by those who know the ins and outs of the government, whether in local politics or in national governance… can you really picture the man [your idol, i pressume] talking with local businessmen to push for wage reforms?? or how about project planning and implementation??

it is easy to say that he will leave that to his people, and i don’t argue with that… but who will suffer once his people makes a mistake?? will they?? nope, he will… and all this simply because he has no business in politics…

gensan is the home of manny not the entire philippines. come on and face the reality. we who like to see manny beat his opponents in the ring also ride on his popularity and brag about being a filipino as if manny belongs to us. he does not belongs to us. he belongs to the politicians who were always with him when he stopped wearing a decent usual short that had the usual three stars on the side that can be bought from baclaran, quiapo, or divisoria whenever he fights. he belongs to the people of gensan only. that is the sad reality. he fights for the filipino people and the country on top of the ring but he had to fight for his gensan people in the ring of politics. the sad thing is that he loves the gensan people more than he love most filipinos but this is the naked truth. we have to be happy for the gensan people for having manny. it is like being happy for pampanga in having efren with the toothless grin. do not blame the people around manny.

i am sure you lost me there, somewhere… anyway…

i am not saying he shouldn’t fight for the people of GenSan, ok?? please read all posts related to this issue and you will see that i am pushing him to help, not only the GenSan populace, but as many people from anywhere else that he can…

enough said!

and yada, yada, yada… it continues on until you suddenly hear ‘ZZZzzzzzz’ in background only to finally find out that you’ve dozed off due to extreme boredom…

as with my previous posts, i am STILL calling for Manny’s backing down from running… and lastly…

pacquiao for gensan mayor or congressman!

why not for president?? so that the whole Philippines can finally go into an even deeper muck than we are currently in…

——–

i will still not give up on you, Manny… again, leave politics to those who don’t know any better… you are a good man… be the best man by helping people on your own without the benefits or backing of an office… i am sure more people will want to back you up if you want to do something on your own, but will back down if you hold a government position…

Ciao, sweetie…

i don’t know if this has become an obsession, but i really can’t just sit back and see Manny throw out his life to enter politics… i am so sorry if you are fed up with this rant…

…to enable him to run for office this coming May…

this, according to this evening’s news over at ABS-CBN… he even was reported to have cancelled his trip to Macau within the week to meet up with boxing promoter Bob Arum… the meeting was supposed to discuss the move of his match against South Korean In Jin Chi from April 28 to April 18…

will he use the win, if ever, as a catapult to win him either a mayoral seat or a congressional position??

this early, he is already showing the makings of traditional politician… **groan**

will he succumb to grandstanding to win a seat?? will he use past boxing accomplishments in hopes of holding a political position?? he should know that people will judge him according to what he can do, not what he has done…

and again, my plea: please, please Manny… don’t run, else you will only be used like a doll, and when you are already in rags, you will be tossed aside because you have no more use to them…

Ciao, sweetie…

Manny Pacquiao finally gave in to other people’s desire for him to run in May… he is still figuring out whether to run as mayor of his native city, or as a congressman of his province… in any case, he still has until Feb 12 to figure it out…

but whatever the case, may it be mayor or congressman, there’s only one thing i, and millions of other Filipinos who truly admire you and care for you, can say: PLEASE DON’T RUN!! yes, you may be a better politician than most, but please be a better person instead… you want to help people?? you can help them even if you are outside of the system, more even because you are not tied to any political wrangling, and the number of people you can help will even be greater because you will not be helping just those who voted for you…

please don’t give in to the machinations of Gloria… the people are still stronger than her, even if she has LAKAS by her side, infinitely stronger… don’t let your charisma be used by politicians who are out to serve their own needs… nakikisakay lang sila sa atraksyon ng tao sa iyo ngayon!! but what do you think will happen once you lose the backing of the people?? will these same politicians still be behind you no matter what??

please don’t be like another Robert Jaworski who run only because he was popular… he was not able to pass any significant law during his term, and i am so sad to say, neither will you… politics is not for you… don’t enter it… you belong to a totally different arena…

oh sure, you will win, maybe even by a landslide, what with the fickle-minded and celebrity-loving voters we have… but that is not the way to serve… not by entering politics…

just say no, Manny… just say no… and i, along with millions of other Filipinos, will love you more for it…

please?? ;(

PS: Shari and I are creating a manifesto against Manny’s political ambitions… you can help by signing…

the love month is now upon us, and for all those whose Christmas is cold, don’t let Valentine’s Day be equally cold, if not worse…

and, to all of you who doesn’t have a date yet, i pity you here is a dating guide so that you can finally experience that first kiss you’ve always been yearning for, but cannot seem to get…

i have this girl i’ve been eyeing… can i text or call her for a date??

by all means, communicate with her one way or another using your cellphone… she’d think you’re cool… or better yet, save up all those credits and simply text her something like “dig kta, dig mo me? date tau!!” or something along those lines… then wait by your phone the whole day, you just might miss her response… and when she does respond, don’t text right away… she might think you’re eager… and that’s uncool…

a friend is setting me up for a blind date… how can i be sure it won’t bomb??

because you are so cool and can’t be bothered to find your own date, you’d rather wait for a friend to set you up… if you go that route, your blind date is already on its way to blowing up in both your, and your date’s, faces… but if you really want to go ahead with the blind date, keep an open mind about it… to be really really sure, agree on what you both will wear, but you wear a totally different thing, then go to the location… scout her first, and if she’s nothing short of beautiful, simply tell her that you tripped over yourself going to the date that you messed up your clothes… but if she’s butt-ugly, then run like there’s no tomorrow…

but then again, an ugly date is better than nothing!!

a benefit concert was held today at the Eastwood, Libis for influential singer-songwriter Ely Buendia, formerly of The Eraserheads, vocalist/guitarist of Pupil… Ely suffered a heart attack while performing in Laguna on January 9, and immediately underwent angioplasty but is now said to be recuperating at home… during the free concert, boxes were passed around by band members themselves to accept donations for Ely…

aside: i was in the company of renowned photographers Daniel Tan and Allan Florendo, foremost shutterbugs in their own right…

anyway, i have to leave early since the wife and i had to be somewhere later in the night… it was a good gig, but i unfortunately cannot finish it…

will be back in Libis tomorrow, this time to cover the streetball challenge featuring “athletes” from bands like Sponge Cola, DictaLicense, Kjwan, UpDharma, Radioactive Sago, Greyhoundz, and others who will be playing for the benefit of public schools thru the Rock Ed PE project… oh, and everyone is invited…

[click on the image above to go to the Gallery pages of the concert]

Ciao, sweetie…