Farewell, Superman!

A face that will be missed around the league.

(Courtesy: counterkicks.com)

"A grand entrance deserves a grander exit."

When Shaq entered the NBA in 1992, he was one of the guys highly touted to dominate the league for years and years to come. Well, obviousluy, he didn't disappoint fans, the media ,and the whole wide world when he stepped on the hardwood for the first time; 4 NBA Championships, 3 NBA Finals MVP's, 1 Regular season MVP, a one-time Olympic Gold medalist, and other great achievements too many to mention to describe his illustrious career.Truly, one of the best, if not, the best center to play the game (with all due respect toother great centers). He'll be greatly missed.

And most importantly, Shaq will be missed for his, (literally) wide sense of humor.

During his glory days with Kobe Bryant and the Lakers

(Courtesy: Los Angeles Times)

Shaquille O'neal is one of the most colorful and polarizing figures to have ever graced the league. Known for his funny and hilarious quotes and antics, he's been followed around by media, and whenever he speaks, everyone listens. You gave him the microphone, you're definitely gonna hear something that's gonna break you into tears while laughing your a** out. A big guy who has great insights during interviews, he called himself "The Big Aristotle and Hobo Master". He also had a variety of nicknames he used over the years of his basketball supremacy: "Shaq", "The Diesel", "Shaq Fu", "The Big Daddy", "Superman", "The Big Agave", "The Big Cactus (and Shaqtus)" and many more to mention.

While this larger-than-life athlete bears a heart of kid off the court, on the court, he's a destructive and dominant force. He redefined the meaning of "using brute force", but still he has a wide array of moves and tactics that we seldomly saw from the other big men. On his prime, he can score at will, block shots into the stands, could do cross-over like a point guard, can sprint down the court like an olympic runner. The only weakness that this big fella has was the free throw shooting (something he jokingly said he'll "miss" during his retirement speech).

Announcing his retirement.

While being popular for his funny acts, he also drew wide attention for the controversies he's been involved with. During his tenure with the Orlando Magic, O'neal had a power struggle playing under then-coach Brian Hill, his comments towards Yao Ming during the Rockets centers' rookie season, his dispute with Kobe Bryant and also the manage of the Los Angeles Lakers during his stint there, and several other things, but he handled all of it perfectly well. Eventually, years passed, he learned to accept wholeheartedly secondary roles for the team he played for after his Lakers campaign. Been there, done that. that's one thing he said while he had his days with the Heat, Suns, Cavaliers and previously, the Celtics.

Shaq will also be remembered for his rap albums and (he said) award-winning film Kazaam. Even if he became a celebrity in his own right, he gives great importance to education. He just secured his master's degree and now currently working on his Ph.D on human resource development in Barry University in Miami, Florida. He said in an article that: "i'm done with the nicknames. Actually, when i obtain my doctorate, i will not allow people to call me Shaq anymore, either". Asked what will they call him, he said "Dr. O'neal". Even at his exit, he never fails to crack everyone with his humor. His retirement announcement in front of the media press were full of laughs, so, maybe that's one way he wants to be remembered - as a real and touchable person.

It's hard to find a player as dominating as he was on the hardwood, a goof ball at the same time. For the past 19 years, he has been entertaining each and everyone of us and he promised to entertain us again for the next 19 years (he mentioned in his speech that he's open for commentating, whether it's TNT, ESPN, CNN or whatever sports media outlets. Hope you're all listening, hehe..). The Lakers decided to retire his No. 34 jersey, so he'll be in the rafters with all the greats of the league. A surefire Hall-of-Famer, soon as well.

You'll be missed, Shaq (Dr. O'neal in the future). Thanks for an amazing and joyful ride. Been a heck of a career. Farewell.

God bless.

"Superman"

Hockeytown!

Certified Red Wing Fan

From now on, i'll try to put blog posts connected to my favorite team in NHL, the Detroit Red Wings. I haven't done this before for my other favorite sports, NBA and the UFC. Although, i'm not a registered or professional correspondent, being a fan (for me) qualifies me to put my thoughts, game reviews and everything connected under the Winged Wheel banner. Even if i only started to become a full-time hockey fan for at least 2 years, i've been watching this sport way back 2000, when i was still in the Philippines (a country that NEVER plays hockey) I was fortunate enough to catch some games thru our cable television for the past decade now. Right now, i'm living in Italy, a football-dominated country, so i'm using the cyberspace to be able to catch the games, interviews, updates about the Red Wings and the NHL in general. I'm still on a learning process about the sport, so, please, bear with me. I'm no reporter or anything, i'm just a Red Wing fan/blogger.

It's just sad that i started to write a blog about my favorite team after they got eliminated last month in the Western Conference Semis by San Jose Sharks (doh!), but anyways, looking forward to next season.

Bring back the Cup to Hockeytown, next season guys!

Good day.

Thanks for the memories, Friendster.

(March 22, 2002 - May 31, 2011)

More than a month ago, i wrote about Friendster losing it's profound relevance to the current social media juggernaut, Facebook. Now, i'm writing like, a "sort-of-eulogy" about the once-dominant fixture of social networking platforms.

God, how time flies by. And how time changes so fast.

I logged on to my Friendster account now --- for the last time, to remove/delete personal files from that website. Then, suddenly my mind went back down the memory lane. It's quite hard to put words together while being nostalgic. Kinda "choking" the words. I checked back on my personal profile, to write my last shoutout, thanking Friendster for all the memories it kept for quite some time now. I also passed thru my old blogs, where my immaturity and childishness happened. Funny how i come up and write blogs from before. Some of them, doesn't make sense at all. Some of them, well, discussing about certain topics/issues. But, anyways, i just want to check how much i've improved my writing skills. I also checked the testimonial/comments section of my profile. Some of the testimonials, dates way back 2004, so it's really been a while. It's also good to stumble upon my own profile preferences: a lot of funny and stupid stuffs were still there. Never moved, never changed. There's really too much to check about this place i've been for a long time. Taking it from a title of a song, i'm "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss".

I'm not being sentimental on Friendster's departure on the social networking world. The site will undergo major overhaul and will be more focused on social entertainment now (mostly, on music and games), i just don't know if they'll still keep the name "Friendster" (my guess is no). So, even in Friendster's demise, we have to celebrate it's past achievements so all we can remember are about the good memories we enjoyed for almost a decade.

But, even if i want to stave off from analyzing what caused Friendster's departure, it's an argument everyone could've had a hard time dismissing it. Before, it was a very hot item, like a can't-miss collegiate basketball prospect player. Now? it's just a thing of the past. An old shadow of itself. Don't get me wrong, i give all my due respect to the founders and everyone associated with Friendster. Nobody's taking away the success they had in recent years. It will always be like that. But, when Facebook rose to prominence, almost everyone joined the bandwagon and left Friendster for dead (even me). I barely even access my FS account for the past 3 years, so i have no idea what happened to Friendster. I don't even make time to check the then-updates that time, 'cause for me, nobody seemed to care anymore and it was a waste of time. It was like, "it has to be Facebook all the time, no more Friendster for me."

Then this day came.

Well, take it from a saying: "Nothing lasts forever". Friendster had it's glory days and success, it's just that now, maybe it's really time for them to take another step and close the curtains on their hottest and most prized commodity. But i'll always remember, that it'll be always the original for the testimonials (where friends really writes something on how good you are), the "Who's viewed my Profile?" and "Last logged-ins", and all patented firsts, courtesy of Friendster.

Well, the planned rejuvenation of Friendster will still keep our accounts, without all our personal files. But, i really have no intentions of keeping it anymore. So, as i was writing this blog, is also the time for me to close down my Friendster account.

To close this blog, i just want to say thank you to Friendster for opening the world to social networking. Becoming pioneers are a great achievement, and you'll never, ever be forgotten. We'll always keep in mind what you've done to us is something we will treasure for all our lives. It's good while it lasted.

Thanks for the memories, Friendster. Good bye.

A Love that never was

Just a week ago, i have to move out (AGAIN) from my previous place because of bed bug terrorism. I still have those bite marks that left me irritated. For a month of stay over there, i never had a good sleep (even though i woke up most of the time at 11 am), 'cause i've always been bothered with just a slight itch, so it was like i have to stay awake all night to wait and catch those bed bugs. Fortunately, the new place i moved into was such a nice place. I even have a bed that can fit three people. So, i was rolling around that bed. AND, i finally had a good, peaceful and bed-bug-free sleep.

(I have another brewing problem over that new place, but i won't say it here now. Maybe, next time.)

One good sign that definitely can say that i had a good sleep is having a good dream. Well, this dream is not just a dream: it's something played a significant role with my life. She was someone that i first talked through the telephone. Introduced by a good friend of mine from grade school. She's the same age as mine (i guess), a mix breed of Mexican, American and Filipina. I can still clearly recall her name.

Michaela Morgan.

It was during 2002, my first year in college. I received a random phone call from someone almost late in the evening. When i picked-up the phone, her voice was enveloped with calmness. I asked her how she was able to get my home phone number, she mentioned my grade school buddy. She came from a good, wealthy family who lives in Valle Verde Subdivision in Pasig. Well, me, i came from a working middle-class family who lives in the outskirts of Manila. I was so young back then, so i have this insecurity-feeling that she won't like me at all. But she was everything i had expected. Sincere, thoughtful, god-fearing person. We talked night after night, got mutually attached to one another (well, that's how i feel). And, the rest was history.

I wrote about her because, for two straight nights, i've dreamt of her. I don't know why but suddenly i felt the need to share this story. Well, the last time i've talked to her is way back 2004, and the last thing i've heard about her is that she moved to the United States. We lost all the communication and haven't kept in touch to one another, so, i don't have any news about her. I even tried looking for her thru Facebook, but, heck! There's a lot of Michaela Morgan's around the world. If only i was brave enough back then, but i wasn't. I wasn't able to tell her that i love her. My reason was --- because of our family classifications. As what i have said, They're a wealthy family and we're a middle-class family. I know it's a dumb and stupid reason for me to have, but back then, it makes sense to me. But now, obviously, it doesn't make sense at all. It was almost a decade ago now, so, now, suddenly i wonder how and where she is now.

There's a lot of "What if's" running through my mind right now. What if i told her? What could've been? Now, i know i can't provide the answers to my own questions 'cause i took a different path of life. I just suddenly felt sad that i didn't had the guts and strength to voice out my true feelings. But, of course, my action served a lot of lessons, so i know now that i'm a much better person.

I did not write this 'cause i regret not doing the right things (well, somehow, i am, hehe.. but not to it's full extent), but to remind other people that when you have the chance to say something towards a person that you love, seize the moment. No screw-ups, no shortcuts, just make a plain and simple statement. Learn in from me, who had all the chance to say it, but chose to hold back. It's a Love that never was.

Quarter of a Century!

Life begins at 25? Naw, i don't think so. Hehehe..

I just reached the "silver lining" of aging. Although i'm not that old yet to say that i've grown into a full-pledged adult, many things have thought me over the course of two decades and 5 years of my life here on earth. I admit i'm still a kid at heart: i still love watching cartoons, playing video games and other sorts, but it's something that i will always carry (i just don't know for how long hahaha!). Maturity came a bit late, but it's worth the wait.

As i re-assume my life with another year added, things get tougher than the usual. The more you aged, the more the responsibilities weighs. It's something that you can't just turn a blind eye, hence, you need to be more ready, more focused and more willing to take those challenges in life. So, whatever! (a strong statement!) to those obstacles. BRING 'EM!

I just want to thank God first for letting me continue this life that i'm having. Next, to my family, who has supported me never-ending (they actually just started especially my mom and dad, hahahaha! just kiddin' ma and pa, love ya!), and to all my friends; best friends, close friends, whatever kind of friends we have here on earth, i thank you all from the bottom of my heart. Finally, i reached a quarter-of-a-century years old (with all credits to my buddy, Philip. hehe..)

Thanks again and God bless all of you.

The House of Ideas

Time is of the essence.

Lately, me and my high school buddy were back at where we are good at: drawing and writing stories. We actually came up with different stories ranging from fantasy to science fiction and the likes of it. We've been planning to make our comic books since our heydays in high school and we both thought that now is the time to fulfill these prophecies we had for a long time, (prophecies, really?)

But, of course, everything doesn't look easy as it seems, 'cause it demands a lot of dedication, sacrifice, perseverance and faith, as well. Recently, my buddy decided to burn his bridges to achieve his dreams and goals. What i mean is, he decided to resign from his day job to go full-time on his ongoing t-shirt business and, of course, to shift his focus on our plans to have our own comic book company one day. We're still down to a very small percentage on where we want to get to, but we're on our way to get there. Me? I'm still struggling to cope up with my everyday life but i don't mind at all. I'm still here, standing strong and i'm doing my part to contribute to him.

We've housed a lot of ideas to build up on to. Unlike before, we tend to compile a lot of bright ideas, only to let it sink in our memories afterwards. So, we both learned our lesson and we try our best to document every brainstorming sessions we had. We've came up with (i think) four different stories now, but none of them are done completely. We're still trying to make time, as it was our biggest obstacle. Finding time is what we're both craving for, so we can go ahead with our planned projects. It's not an easy task, but it's not impossible to achieve.

We're still short on, almost everything, except piling up ideas, as what i have said earlier. Financially, we're not stable yet, so we have to find ways to finance this mega-project to have it stabilized, so to speak. So, all we can do now is sit back and do the best that we can do to come up with the resources we needed, even if we're miles apart (as i am here in Milan, Italy and he's there in Manila, Philippines). I'm praying and hoping for all the best to come. Maybe, you can pray for us, too..

Good day to all.

Gamers Heart Japan

The recent events that crippled Japan has sent devastating shockwaves and had everyone shocked and worried --- even gamers like me. Japan is one of the biggest gaming industries in the whole world, so it's no surprise that the gaming community were alarmed. The current crisis Japan is undergoing right has dealt them a major blow in their economy. Shortages from basic commodities and other kinds of stuff are at an all-time high. I'm not even sure how long will it take The Land of the Rising Sun to get into full recovery status. Let's just pray for the best during these trying times.

As a gamer and a fan of gaming community, it got me affected and concerned. So, it's a good sign that the gaming community all around the world are doing their part to spread the word and help Japan at any cost. My blog was way delayed from the day of disaster, but i know that even if this was a bit late to inform everyone, i know this could be helpful in any other way. I hope whoever anonymously reads this or bumps into this blog entry in the cyberspace, gamer or non-gamer, would get their hearts touched and do something to contribute.

There's a video post in Youtube (here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROHJmP_TNR0) where different people from around the gaming world show their support and compassion towards Japan. I wasn't able to upload it here, 'cause the video is an hour long, but if you have time, try to check it out.

Good day to all.