Bogart Gangnam Style (Oppa Gangnam Style Parody)

It's now officially a craze. I'm talking about this viral hit " Oppa Gangnam Style" by Psy. Its everywhere now be it online, on radio and TV and as expected, has spawned a number of parodies. Of course, when it comes to parody, Filipinos won't be far left behind. Here is one that has catching attention lately:

Kobe vs. MJ- Identical Plays..awesome!

LeBron James and the Miami Heat, NBA Champs 2012

After 9 seasons with 2 teams, 3 Regular Season MVP, 3 Finals appearance and 1 Decision, LeBron James is finally crowned King of the basketball world as he lead the Miami Heat in capturing the 2012 NBA Championship.

Story:  NBA
           Yahoo Sports
         

King with no Ring wins, King of the Ring lost

It was a big day for sports fans as two highly anticipated matches happened today.

First up was the NBA Game 7 match-up between Eastern Conference rivals Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat. The Heat forced this game via an MVP-like performance by LeBron James in Game 6. It was a statement game for James who was often criticized for folding in big games. Today, the Heat won the game , the Eastern Conference trophy and the right to meet the rising Kevin Durant and Oklahoma City Thunders in the NBA Finals starting on Tuesday, June 12.

After the basketball game, fans switched to watch the boxing match between American Timothy Bradley and Filipino Boxing hero Manny Pacquiao. Many fans, still enthusiastic with the thrilling basketball game, are already expecting a double celebration with an anticipated dominant victory for PacMan. But the end result shocked fans, analysts and observers as Bradley won via Split Decision over the much-heralded Pacquiao.

Two of the judges scored 115-113 with only one judge calling the match for Manny. It was a controversial win that overshadowed the Heat and James victory and one which will surely be a hot topic for the days to come.

I can only say, you win some, you lose some. And others can make you lose even if you clearly won..sadly, this is how the game is played sometimes.

Food Trip: Jollibee in Kuwait

Finally, I took a bite of the Bee.

Three days after it opened, Jollibee Kuwait is still overflowing with enthusiastic Pinoys waiting in line for hours, wanting to have a taste of home away from home.

Last night, I became part of that mob.

As soon as I arrived home from work yesterday, I asked my wife if she wants to try our luck tonight, she said okay. My daughter must have overheard us and said "Daddy, teacher asked us if we've been to Jollibee already and everybody said Yes, I am the only one No." Okay, so it only means we have to go..lol.

As expected, when we reached the store there's still a queue outside. So we decided to go and do other matters then just come back later.

And come back we did. It was already past 9 by then, about an hour and a half since we first passed by. There were still people in line outside, but at least fewer than the previous days so I thought this should not take long.

I joined the line. When I was standing there, I felt a sort of embarrassment to myself... like I was telling how these people could stand hours of waiting just to have a burger and chicken...like I told before I would wait for the madness to settle down maybe in a months time before  I bring my family here...and yet, here I am, standing outside, waiting patiently for my burger and chicken..LOL!

Inch by inch the line moved until I found myself already inside the store..weee! I am just a few minutes away from the counter. But those minutes quickly turned to hour and yet I felt we are not moving any closer. Darn, this waiting is taking forever and the smell of freshly cooked chicken is killing me. I watched as one by one, customers make their order and as they happily collect their bags of goodness and turned away from the counter with a sigh of relief and desperation. I heard one said, " Sa wakas (At last), after 3 hours!"..I also watched in amazement how one lady ordered just one burger meal for take out..She was there from 7 pm and she ordered just that? Oh well..

Closing time is coming and I can sense an increased feeling of anxiety with my fellow customers. Add to this,  some items are already being sold out! Like what the..**!, you waited long enough only to be told "Sorry, Sir..Sorry Ma'am, sold out na po." 

Anyway, my turn came so I made my order.. and I made sure I have all I wanted..I mean, if you waited that long, better make it sure it's worth the wait..hah!

We drove back home, tired and hungry and cold.. By close to midnight, we had our dinner...on bed!..just so tired to have a meal on the dining table...I finished my burger within minutes and Mommy finished half of hers before we turned our attention to the chicken meal..my girls are also delighted with their spaghetti meal, and in fact, even alternately taking a bite from our burgers!..in less than 10 minutes, we're done...

So was it worth all that?.Definitely!...seeing the smiles..and the spaghetti sauce...on my girl's face..It's definitely yes.

Will I do it again? No..not that soon..I will come back there again after a month's time, after all these madness has settled down...

Or until I crave for another burger..

Jeremy Who?!

Jeremy Lin. That's who.

Seems like his name is everywhere these days..Linsanity. Lincredible. Linsational. Call him any Lin nickname you can think of.. And why not?

Everybody knows his story. He is the surprise star of this lockout-shortened NBA season. A perfect story line for a made-for-TV series...even a feel-good Hollywood movie.

A player of Asian descent, who did not receive any athletic scholarship, went undrafted out of college, signed by his hometown team to be used sparingly in NBA games, occasionally sent out to the D-League before being waived off to clear salary space. He eventually landed with the New York Knicks.

And the rest, as they say, is history. Or maybe... the legend is just beginning.



You don't have to be basketball fan..not even a New York Knicks fan..to like this guy. I mean, come on. We all have this fantasy that one day, all our dreams will come true, right?

Then here is one man living out his dreams and enjoying every moment of it. So better believe it.



Suddenly, the NBA is not just about Kobe, LeBron,Wade and Griffins anymore. But definitely, it is becoming a better place.

Been There..Ate That (A look back to the month that was July)

In stark contrast with this Holy Month of Ramadan or my diet-with-exercise attempts of the previous months, last month was the most stomach-filling, weight-gaining, calorie-adding month for me and well, for some of my colleagues..and my wife perhaps.

Picture this---lunch and/or dinner feast at least every other day each week for the whole month of July...at the office..at home..everywhere.

From the more popular American fastfood chains like KFC, Popeye's, Hardees, McDo and Domino's Pizza, and the more traditional Arabic food such as lamb Ouzi, kebabs,shish tawook and fatayer to Indian food like Chicken biryani, vegetable samosa and Chicken tikka, to Filipino staple food like Kare-kare, tapsilog, Halo-halo, Pansit Guisado and lomi to the more expensive but real good Chinese food in P.F. Chang's, or the Steak, Fajitas and buffalo wings at Chili's or even some Gourmet food in IKEA...

Been there..ate that!

Not to mention the sweets and desserts..like the oh-so-good ice cream cake from Coldstone, doughnuts and cakes and yes, the latest craze in town, frozen yougurts...but from IKEA (that's why we called it IKEAberry)..believe me, the same FROYO goodness but at a lesser price :)

Been there..ate that!

and I am surprised (or disappointed) to know that I only gained just a little more than 1 kg. from all of these..lols..

Now the new challenge due to the fasting month Ramadan begins.

Food Trip: OK (Open Kitchen)

Description: Specializes in Filipino and Chinese dishes. Their tapsilog and lomi are my all-time fave. I've known the place for 8 years now and the taste remains the same even though I think the original Pinoy cook is no longer working there, I am not sure. The Pinoy food section used to occupy the smaller store on the left and the bigger place for American and Arabic foods and sandwiches to cater to the taste of local families and other nationalities. But even they are ordering soup and noodles from the Pinoy section.

Location: The place is located at the food court of the amusement center behind McDonalds' at Salem Mubarak street, Salmiya . It's usually packed with families on weekends so the best time to visit is during weekdays and late nights unless you are capable of waiting until a table becomes available.

Recommendation: Tapsilog definitely!

posted from Bloggeroid

Food Trip: Pinkberry

Origin: Franchise from Los Angeles, California

Description: Original (Plain) or Green Tea, Pomegranate, Mango, Coconut, Passion Fruit and Chocolate Flavored Frozen Yogurt topped with your own choice of fresh fruits like  strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, bananas, mangoes, kiwi and pineapple and even dry toppings such as chocolate shavings, white chocolate, granola and nuts.

Locations: More stores coming up all over Kuwait

Recommendation: Absolutely

Note: A little pricey but it's definitely worth it

Food Trip: PF Chang's China Bistro

Origin: Scottsdale, Arizona
Location:  The Avenues Mall, Shuwaikh and the Arabian Gulf Road across Sha'ab Park

Descriptions:  Authentic Chinese American cuisine. Generous serving sizes at very affordable prices. Friendly and fast service. Beautiful ambiance. Perfect dining experience.

Recommendation: Highly Recommended.

One small warning: It is highly addictive.

Food trip: Tabab Restaurant

Passed by Tabab Restaurant in Bneid Al Gar to try their kebab sandwich, which according to popular belief, is the best tasting kebab sandwich in town..turns out it is indeed a FACT!



The place is located in between Al Salam Hospital and the jamiya.

posted from Bloggeroid

Shaq Retires ( The Big Retiree)

Image courtesy of NBA.com

Read the article here: Shaq retires after 19 years

Get Ready: NBA Finals 2011

The Dawning of a New Era in NBA Basketball

Only 7 teams had taken turns in winning the NBA championship in the last 20 years (1990-2010), led by Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls with 6 titles in 6 Finals appearances from 1991-1993 and 1996-1998.

They are followed by the LA Lakers with 5 titles out of 8 trips (the most Finals appearance by any team in the last 20 years). They won their three-peat with Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal and Phil Jackson in 2000,2001 and 2002 and just recently in 2009 and 2010, but without Shaq in the mix.

The San Antonio Spurs and Tim Duncan are next with 4 titles in 4 attempts (1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007).

Hakeem Olajuwon's Houston Rockets won back-to-back titles in 1994 and 1995. But they never flourished as a dynasty like one would expect them to be.

In between the dominance of the above teams, three other teams won the title once.

Underrated Detroit Pistons, composed mostly of role players and  underachievers, won the title in 2004 against an All- Star Lakers team with Shaq, Kobe, Karl Malone and Gary Payton. After the title, the Pistons continued to be a tough playoff matchup to anyone but never reached the Finals again.

Shaq joined the Miami Heat and helped Dwyane Wade win their first ever trip to the Finals in 2006 against another Finals first timer Dallas Mavericks. Since the title, the Heat failed to maintain the momentum, slowed down by various roster shakeups and injuries to their key players.

The Boston Celtics formed a new Big Three in Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett and won their newest match-up with their old rival, the Lakers in 2008. They continued to figure as the team to beat in the East, reaching the Conference Finals against eventual winner Orlando Magic in 2009 and losing their Finals rematch with the Lakers last season.

From the seven champions of the last 20 years, the Rockets and Pistons faded in recent years, suffering an almost similar fate- once powerhouse teams now almost dissolved into oblivion.

Of the remaining five, only the Bulls and the Heat are still in the running in the current NBA playoffs.

In the West, No. 1 seed Spurs lost its first round matchup with no. 8 Memphis Grizzlies while Phil Jackson, Bryant and the Lakers' attempt of another three-peat ended with a loud thud when they were swept by Dirk Nowitski and the Dallas Mavericks in their semi-final series.

With the exit of the Spurs and Lakers, the West paved the way for the emergence of a new breed of heroes in Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant and Memphis' Zach Randolph. Already, their series has the making of a playoff classic, with one game decided in an epic triple overtime. And last night, the Grizzlies beat the Thunders to  force a win-or-go home Game 7 this Sunday. The Mavs are eagerly waiting for the outcome of that series as they also want to claim their right to be considered one of the league's elite.

The East is even more interesting. Over the course of last year's offseason, the most sought after free-agent class of LeBron James, Wade and Chris Bosh joined forces in Miami to form a super-team with a common goal in mind- to get some measure of revenge from the Celtics, win the East and ultimately, win a championship or two, especially for James. They've already accomplished their first goal as they emphatically closed out the Celtics, 4 games to 1, in their second round series. Now, fans and haters alike will wait and see if there will be another championship parade in South Beach in June.

Meanwhile, even with the alignment of stars in Miami, the league saw the resurrection of surprise no. 1 overall, the Chicago Bulls. Led by the youngest league MVP Derrick Rose, the Bulls won their match-up with the stubborn Atlanta Hawks to book their first trip to the Eastern Conference Finals since their glory days with Jordan.

With the departure of legendary teams, we may now be looking into the dawning of a new era in the NBA, where old champions lose and fade away while new and younger teams rise into the spotlight. Gone are the Spurs, the Lakers and the Celtics, the teams that virtually have owned the stage for quite some time..Maybe gone for now, but surely they will be back- maybe younger.

maybe even stronger..

Aside from those teams, we may also be bidding farewell to individuals who have shaped the NBA playoffs picture.

Names like Shaquille O'Neal who's not even in uniform in what maybe the last game of his career.

Phil Jackson,who might have called his last game,sadly in the worst possible way, with the Lakers.

Kobe, Garnett, Duncan, Pierce- they are all in the waning years of their careers. But the call of winning at least one more championship before they hang their jerseys is just too loud to ignore. I give them two, maybe three more seasons and they will be gone too.

Yet, the torch must've been passed already to the new generations. Much like how Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird passed it over to Jordan and company.

Yes, there may still be some familiar faces and names around but slowly, the future is taking shape...the future is now and it becomes as exciting as ever.

(Original article by Cy P. Mercado, with external references as linked)

The New Spiderman

Ever since word of a "Spider-Man" reboot was announced, fans have been hungry for any scrap of info about the movie. How will this version differ from Sam Raimi’s hugely successful franchise? How will Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker stack up against Toby Maguire's? Today, we get an early look at the upcoming flick. Check out the pic below.

The photo, the first released from the movie, shows Parker in Spider-Man's iconic red and blue suit sans mask. His face has been scuffed up and his suit, which is more textured and less sculpted than in Spidey's previous incarnation, looks a bit worse for wear.
Garfield, who was nominated for a Golden Globe for his turn in “The Social Network,” admits to being daunted playing the legendary web-slinger.

"I see it as a massive challenge in many ways," he told Details magazine. "To make it authentic. To make the character live and breathe in a new way. The audience already has a relationship with many different incarnations of the character. I do, as well. I'm probably going to be the guy in the movie theater shouting abuse at myself. But I have to let that go. No turning back. And I wouldn't want to."
We'll have to wait until 2012 to see if Garfield manages to deliver the goods.

http://blog.movies.yahoo.com/blog/406-first-photo-of-andrew-garfield-as-spider-man-revealed

All-Star 2011 | NBA.com

The HEAT is on...

So now, after years of team preparations and anxiety, the most anticipated free agency period in NBA history  is over ..it's official..the Summer of Lebron becomes a year-long summer party in Miami as he joins my other favorite player (after KB24!), D-Wade and also Chris Bosh (formerly of Toronto) in forming a new triumvirate in the East..wtf..after all those salary cap clearances and elbowing for position by NY, New Jersey and Chicago and of course Cleveland, the silent Miami edged them all!

I think he's been leaning towards Miami even before..when he announced he's changing his jersey number to 6..he said he's doing that as a respect to Michael Jordan as the only rightful owner of Number 23..but actually, the number has been retired, not only in Chicago where MJ played but also in Miami, where the Heat retired it in Mj's honor.

Poor Cleveland..once again, they've been bertrayed..but I bet this one's gotta hurt the most as LBJ is their very own son.. the team built a city around him..the city built a dream around him..and now the Cavs are left with just bit and pieces of that once glorious dream...he's gone somewhere else...to realize his own dream, to try to win a championship for himself, not for the city who loved him no end...not to seek help, but to give help to someone else...not in that championship-starved city of Cleveland..their most favorite son, their most famous personality suddenly became their worst adversary..I can't blame them if they hate him..one report even showed an angry fan burning his no.23 jersey..

While in the sunny state of Miami, the fans are rejoicing, partying and maybe already dreaming of another championship parade with Latino music blaring along Biscayne Boulevard.

Pat Riley ends up the winner of this grand lottery by getting the Top Three free agents to Miami..yes, it's a Fantasy team for the ages, but it's still not a guarantee the team can win it all come June 2011..there's still a lot of work to be done before they can be called Championship contenders..they've practically cleared up their whole roster to make this blockbuster deal a reality..And now that the major pieces are in place, the daunting task of assembling their supporting cast still lies ahead. They've to find bit players who'd be willing to get minimum salaries as majority of their salary cap will already be taken by the three superstars..

Now, Kobe, Phil and the Laker's quest for a second 3-peat becomes more challenging.....albeit exciting!..

Let's get this party started!

Lakers are 2010 NBA Champions..wohoo!

Revenge is oh so sweet..sa wakas!

The Los Angeles Lakers are back-to-back champions after beating their longtime rival, Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, 83-79. After trailing by 3 1/2 quarters, LA finally reclaimed the lead midway in the fourth quarter and never looked back despite a last stand from the Celtics.

Kobe Bryant, struggling all night, was named Finals MVP for the 2nd year, but it was his team mates, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Derek Fisher and their newest addition, Ron Artest who won this one for him. They made big plays down the stretch...I mean, huge plays..Pau with his free throws, offensive rebounding and blocks..Odom with a couple of follow-up shots..Artest with his defense on Paul Pierce and his offensive game going, not-to-mention that huge three point shot with 1:02 to silence Celtic's own rally.

But I think, it's Fisher's three pointer with 6:12 remaining to tie the game at 64 apiece that turned the game around..Yes, Mr. Clutch Fisher hitting one big shot yet again to make the difference..

It energizes the crowd..it disrupts Celtics momentum..and most importantly, it relieves Kobe of his game-long agony..after that play, everything just went LA way.

Ah, this must be so sweet..not only did they get their revenge for that 2008's embarrassing loss, they also got to beat Celtics, their greatest rival, in a Game 7..that's something special for Kobe also..He further cemented his stature as one of the Laker's greatest, and he accomplished something even Magic Johnson and Jerry West failed to do: win over Celtics in a Game 7 of the Finals.

Phil now got his 11th championship as head coach, the most by any coach in all of professional sports..perhaps another one next year..c'mon, Phil..4th three-peat before you finally call it quits..now that'd be really awesome for the books!

Kobe now has 5, that's a handful of rings (are you watching, Lebron?)..one more to tie MJ wohoo!

Pau ( Viva Espana!) has got 2 championships in 3 Finals appearance with the Lakers, not bad eh?..Fisher also got 5. Odom got his 2nd..and Artest, got his wish..his 1st.

So now, I must say to all the Lakers fans out there..pop the champagne..it's raining purple and gold right now.

and as Kobe said, " Let's go for it again!"

So..see you next year!

Lakers easily forced Game 7 with a rout..yey!

Courtesy of Getty Images/ NBA Yahoo Sports

Boston and LA, get ready to rumble..the NBA Finals is going to Game 7 for the first time since 2005. Winner take all..

This is definitely another epic Celtics-Lakers battle. Who will win on Thursday (Friday morning, Kuwait)? I can only keep my fingers crossed..lets wait and see.

Celtics Vs. Lakers Game 5 Mini Movie

Video courtesy of NBA.com