Death Chart

Pending other preseason transactions, this is what Miami's depth chart will probably look like at the beginning of the season:

C - Blount / Magloire / Anthony / Mourning*
PF - Haslem / Beasley / Padgett
SF - Marion / J. Jones / Wright
SG - Wade / Cook / Diawara
PG - Quinn / Chalmers / Banks

With the recent signing of Magloire, it seems that Riles will be playing the center position by committee. It is not necessarily a bad thing, sometimes that approach works. But given that most of the Eastern Conference contenders had strengthened their 4 and 5 positions, and the fact that Miami will be pinning its postseason hopes on Blount's offense, Magloire's defense, and Mourning's health - the season will certainly look bleak.

Now, what about point guards? I can't even begin to imagine that Pat Riley is done dealing. He has been able to get quality point guards in the free agency in the past, so yes, I trust him. Its just that all the guards are getting signed by other teams. Who is left anyway? Livingston? Stoudamire? Gordon?? Urrghh.. I hope that Miami does the right thing or signs the "right" guard - whoever that may be.
In Riles We Trust.

Of course, its not all bad. The two, three, and four positions are loaded with talent. They can score on anybody and defend anyone.
We got shooters to spread the floor: Cook and Jones;
Defensive stoppers: Marion, Diawara, Wright, and Haslem (add Wade if he's not spent on offense);
Slashers: Wade and Marion,
Natural scorers: Wade and Cook, and;
Young legs, a ton of potential, and a lot of rebounds: Beasley.

My prediction? 8th or even 7th in the East. But it will mainly boil down to health and chemistry - two things that seemed to lack last season's heinous regular season run.

I Wantss It

The Angas-Factor of this ride is off the hook! I want a 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer. I WANT a 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer. I'd sell my left nut for one of these.

After VRUSKO, I promised I'd swear off of Mitsubishi cars. (Not that I can afford a new car anyway.) But check this motherfucker out. It's like a poor man's Dodge Charger SRT8!

Shake Yer Head (In Disappointment)

By now, you must have heard the news that the Eraserheads Reunion Concert did not finish because mister big shot Ely Buendia happened to have chest pains that made him unable to finish the rest of the set. When his sister was delivering the message to the crowd that his brother is on his way to the hospital and that the concert will not continue, I was thinking to myself, "So... they decided that THIS would be the best possible ending." I think that this is a conspiracy, I mean think about it, what better way for the band to end it? Keep the crowd hanging for more.. Go out with a bang (of sorts).. Be the story of the month.. Be the story of the year.. Possibly.

Even if it wasn't a conspiracy, and even if it did happen according to fate and not some human deus ex machina, I left disappointed.

(UPDATE: When the organizers asked for a minute of silence for prayers about Ely's condition. Everyone was silent. Everyone. Which may indicate that I am in the minority regarding this conspiracy thing. Okay, I knew that I was going to be in the minority about this thing. But I'm not writing this just to stand out and be against the flow (like this). I'm writing this for myself and because this is what I felt and this is what I thought probably happened.)

Also, about the organizers, I was half-hoping that they'd announce that they would return the half of the ticket price or something like that. Naive. Haha. I even heard a few people commenting that: "Humingi kasi ng group-hug eh, ayan, inatake tuloy."

Before I am judged, I want you guys to know that I really, really wanted this to work out. I really wanted this to be an amazing night. (For the should-have-been-first-half, it was.) Please keep in mind that I have a number of things invested in this concert. Aside from the money that we spent for the tickets, there's this little thing to note that one of the band members is the biological father of my eldest daughter. (Syd is 6 years old, and yes, we are open about it.) And to add to that, I am truly a FAN of the Eraserheads. Probably 8 out of the first 10 songs that Andrei, Robert, and I learned to play together as band was an E-Heads song -probably like most other bands of our generation. Anyway, during the concert, I was singing my heart out and I absolutely enjoyed myself. My wife and I were with great people (Drei, Chel, Gail, and Che). I was constantly teasing my wife about her "past love." Hehe. We rocked out. We were absolutely eager and excited for the next set. Then came the message...

UPDATE: What made me more disappointed was this e-mail I received from my good buddy, Ken, who was at the concert as well. The following may or may not be true, it was quoted from a blog (here is the link). It will make you wonder though, what we could have missed if there really was a second part. Here is an excerpt:

We were all supposed to dance the Huling El Bimbo with a fantastic fireworks display. It was going to be the perfect song to end a perfect concert.I know because my sister said so. She was one of the band's PAs (guess which one!) and was there during the production meetings. On Sunday morning, as we gathered for our family lunch, she told us what was supposed to go down during the Eheads concert.The first set went exactly as planned, except of course for Ely's collapse. To refresh your memory, these are the songs we heard:

1. Alapaap

2. Ligaya

3. Sembreak

4. Hey Jay

5. Harana

6. Fruitcake

7. Toyang

8. Kama Supra

9. Kailan

10. Wag Kang Matakot

11. Kaliwete

12. With A Smile

13. Shake Yer Head

14. Wag Mo Nang Itanong

15. Lightyears

During the second set, the band was to sing ten more songs, in this order:

1. Maskara

2. Poor Man's Grave

3. Torpedo

4. Trip to Jerusalem

5. Back To Me

6. walang Nagbago

7. Maling Akala

8. Tikman

9. Spoliarium

10.Magasin

When Magasin was to be played, the screen behind them would have montages of various news and magazine clippings of them. It would flash alternately with shots of the band and audience until the song reached the coda where Ely sings "...ay centerfold ka naaaa...woo hoo-hoo, haaa-haaa" part of the song. Then there would be fire works and a fountain of sparks, going on til the last note of the song. Then the hydraulic stage would be lowered and the band would make a "fake ending". The lights would then go out. My sister said the band would wait til the crowd chanted "more". "It would take two beers' worth of chanting "more" she said. Then in the darkness, a very dramatic keyboard solo would be heard, and it would be the opening chords of Para Sa Masa.The hydraulic stage would rise again and there they would be.After Para Sa Masa, they'd switch into Overdrive. With the crowd pumped within an inch of insanity they were to hit us with Pare Ko. And then we would slow down and reminisce with Minsan.Finally, they would perform Huling El Bimbo. Again, after the last refrain, at the coda (la la la laaa...) the grand fireworks display would go off, fountains of light surrounding the stage. The next la-la-la parts would see fireworks from behind the general admissions section, and as the song ended there would be a burst of confetti all over the audience. Then the hydraulic stage would be lowered for the final exit.

Those were the plans for the Ultraelectromagnetic night. It may not have happened as planned but at least we knew they were going to give us a show we would never forget!We asked my sister if the band knew about all these plans and she said they did. In fact they were so excited about all the gimmicks and couldn't wait to party with the audience. "Nag-usap pa nga sila kung may mga kailangang saluhin na kanta just in case (di na kaya ni Ely)," she said. "And Ely said, hindi, Kakanta ako!"

I'm putting out an order to the Universe that we all get to watch the second set!

So what do I make of this? Do we hope for a "free" concert like originally reported? Probably. But I wouldn't want me and Mae Dei in the middle of that crowd. She being pregnant and all. Sobrang dami na nga ng tao last concert eh, dun pa kaya sa libre. But on the other hand, would I pay for another concert that I was already supposed to have paid for already?

Will Marcus, Raimund, Buddy, and Ely do it again? Will we ever get to see them play El Bimbo and Magasin together? Will there ever be another band as iconic as Eraserheads?

Will they treat us to a group hug?

Speed Racer

Bad:

Cinematography - A movie of this scale should have had more wide shots. Instead, zooming in from close-up to close-up to another close-up to yet another close-up will almost make you nauseous.

Racing Physics - Okay, it was more like spinning rather than racing. The cars spin almost always during races. Intended spinning. The race felt like the cars were on ice with absolutely no traction. I particularly like the car battles, but these lightweight cars seemed indestructible.

Good:

Color Palette - It reminded me of Nickelodeon's Lazy Town. Which is somewhat a good thing. Seiichi loved that show and the hues always made us relax.

Roger Allam (Mr. Royalton) and Paulie Litt (Spritle Racer) - Great acting. They were more memorable than Speed Racer himself.

Bottom Line: Even if you're a fan of the original animated series, it's not the end of the world if you happen to miss this movie. Anyway, watch this movie when you have nothing to do on a Sunday afternoon and you just want to sit back on your couch. Just block it from your mind that this is a Wachowski movie and you're all set.

Hypermile Your Life

I just came across an amazing article in Wikipedia and Wikihow. It's about Hypermiling.

Hypermiling is a term used in North America that refers to a set of techniques used to maximize fuel economy. Those who practice the techniques are referred to as "hypermilers."

Ever since I've read these articles, I've been practicing common techniques to save fuel like idling, drafting, and braking techniques. It is almost a habit now. Everytime I step behind the wheel, I think - "Hypermile my car, Hypermile my life."

Tisyong, ikaw na ba yan?

If you look closely at the picture above, you can see the two distinct purple lines forming in the marked indicators of the pregnancy kit. That could mean only one thing: Mae Dei and I are expecting our third child! I'm so excited, I can't even begin to explain! Happy times and crazy times ahead!
I don't want to get ahead of myself but, we already have a name for a baby boy (a Star Wars character) although we're undecided yet on a name for a baby girl (we have an idea but it's not set in stone yet).
This is not really unexpected. We've been talking about having another baby for almost a year now. We, however, could have made some preparations/techniques/methods to make sure we have a boy this time. Yep, you heard me right - we could have at least done more to increase the chance of conceiving a baby boy (we have two girls). Believe it or not, there are dietary recommendations, temperature and time of day considerations, Chinese birth calendar guides (Lunar), astrological guides (Sun, Moon, and Zodiac), and a number of myths and other scientific tips for this. A quick Google search will give almost all the information you need.

Quick Movie Reviews

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor - It was a fairly good movie. Much like the other Mummy movies, it was action-packed and had a relatively engaging plot. However, you can tell that not having Rachel Weisz play the role of Evey had a negative impact to the overall feel of the movie. It just wasn't as refreshing without her. Anyway, this is an easy call, The Mummy Returns is still the best out of of all three Mummy movies.

The Dark Knight - It IS the best superhero movie in the history of film. Great special effects, cinematography, acting, story, and plot. Bad Batman voice. Nothing that will revolutionize the entire film industry, but it does stake claim to the best superhero film ever. Pending Snyder's Watchmen that is.

Felon - Nothing to see here. Please move along.

You Don't Mess With the Zohan - This may very well be the worst Adam Sandler movie.

Hancock - This movie got so many bad reviews from either friends or critics, I watched it without any expectations at all. Turns out it wasn't really that bad - it was an "okay" popcorn movie. Which means, watch it if you don't want to think about what you're seeing.

Impact Point - "A sexy volleyball thriller." - without sex.

Kung-Fu Panda - A measure of how good an animated movie for children is the children themselves. I watched this with my two daughters and within 15 minutes, they were already doing something else.

Pathology - "Mga doktor lang makaka-appreciate nyan..." - my wife

Rescue Dawn - Christian Bale actually agreed to do this movie? Elton Brand (professional basketball player and movie producer) must really have some deep pockets.

Harold and Kumar: Escapa from Guantanamo Bay - If you liked the first one, you'll like this one. Other than that, same same. Rob Cordry was exceptionally funny here, by the way.

Hot Rod - The highlight of the entire movie was the "punch dancing" scene. If not for anything else, you may see this movie just for that.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall - This is actually one of the funniest movies of the year. But why did it have so many dick shots?

New Ville Rant

We moved from Marikina to Cainta a month ago. I definitely miss Longhorn, I grew up there, actually, I spent my entire 29 years at that place - not just a house but a home. The new village in Cainta is "okay," but far from perfect.
Consider this: the apartment is a full two kilometers away from the gate - that translates to around half a liter of gasoline just to travel to the gate and return, and don't even get me started on gas prices. Between the gate and the apartment, you have to go through no less than 10 road humps. Think about that for a minute. Ten humps. In a distance of 2 kilometers. Ten! And these aren't even nicely curved road humps. These are broken down, really high, suspension breaking road humps where you have to completely stop to go over them. Its like their purpose is not to slow down vehicles but rather to BREAK them. On a stick shift, you can't even go on fourth or fifth gear because the humps are positioned unevenly every 200 meters or so. I have to endure this EVERY day. Not to mention the traffic you have to go through outside the village to get to anywhere.
Another thing that is not helping is that stray animals are everywhere. In just a single month, I have already injured three dogs and a cat, by running over them on the road. (Disclaimer: I may or may ot have killed some of them) Honestly, I sincerely did not mean to hurt these "pets." Everyone has gone through this. It was like the dogs had no idea what to do when they saw headlights - i'm gonna cross, no i'm not gonna cross, i'm gonna cross, no i'm not gonna cross... i'm gonna... (insert non-offensive sound text of something hitting a car). This is the difference between Cainta and Marikina. In Marikina, the stray pet law (or whatever they call it) is strictly enforced. Strictly enforced. All stray animals are caught and caged and all pets are registered in each barangay. They have people going around the city JUST for this purpose. If you've been to Marikina, you'd see that there are absolutely no stray animals anywhere.
Anyway, things aren't really not dire. This village has a lot of positives as well. The apartment, although small, is very homey. Seiichi's school is just two blocks away from the apartment. This school is really nice and not that expensive. Syd is much nearer now to Assumption Antipolo and her school bus got a lot cheaper. The clubhouse has a swimming pool. The inihaw food you can buy around the village is really, really good. The village is nearer to malls and is nearer to Ortigas and to Eastwood (although not really a lot). And my wife's bestfriend lives on the same village.
At the end of the day, the thing that is mostly on my mind is - Until when will we keep on renting an apartment and when will we get a house of our own?
That is an entirely different chapter by itself.

D-Wade is back?

He has been tearing it up at the Olympics. Showing off his natural athleticism and the explosiveness that gave Miami their first championship in franchise history. I particularly liked this quote from Zo: "I see him as a MVP candidate this year and I told him that a goal of his should be to on first team all-defense and there is no reason he shouldn't be there." All-defense first team is not a stretch for Wade. He was the best shot blocking guard in the entire league a couple of years back (if you consider Josh Smith a forward).
So is D-Wade back? Not until he shows up healthy on the first day of the regular season and plays all 82 games.

James Jones

From the RealGM Wiretap:

"The Miami Heat announced today that they have signed free agent guard/forward James Jones. Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. Jones, 6’8”, 220 pounds, shot 44.4 percent from three-point range last season finishing with the third-best mark in the NBA. The five-year NBA veteran appeared in 58 games (three starts) for the Portland Trail Blazers last season and averaged 8.0 points and 2.8 rebounds in 22.0 minutes while shooting 43.7 percent from the field and 87.8 percent from the foul line. He shot at least 50 percent from beyond the arc 31 times with his best effort coming on April 15 as he tied his single-game career-high with six three-point field goals made."

Good FA signing, he can be the James Posey type player Miami used to have - coming off the bench, hitting open shots, and being a decent defender. Besides, he loves to play in Miami as this is his hometown.
BUT: The Heat's track record for signing shooters has not been really good except for Jason Kapono. And why do I get the nagging feeling that he'll be another Wesley Person, or worse, a Smush Parker? I hope to high heaven i'm wrong and he doesn't turn out like either of them.
Anyway, so what happens to Ricky Davis and Dorrell Wright now?