Cokeycyn's Multiply

Looks like it carries some merit to it.  Several papers have carried it today:

ABS-CBN:
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/09/23/09/uaap-body-probe-case-ex-eagle

Manila Bulletin:
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/221812/exateneo-cager-s-records-questioned

Phil Inquirer:
http://sports.inquirer.net/collegiate/collegiate/view/20090923-226480/Former-Eagle-under-the-gun

Wow this is so strange.   If I read the PDI article correctly, it seems like the lawyers are seeking "civil and criminal action" against Jobe, from his ex-girlfriend's mother.  It's a very strange connection >.<

I'e got so many random thoughts on this one...

- Wow, is this true?  Is this a smear campaign?  Pero, who is this girl who's filing a case?!?  Wow.

- Does this mean AdMU is disqualified this year, automatically making the winner of FEU vs. UE the champion??  Or will they need to play off against UST?  OR does this mean a recalculation of all standings??? hmmm....

- I wonder if AdMU will volunteer to return the trophy, like DLSU did when we discovered and validated the Mark Benitez scandal.  If that happens... will DLSU be awarded the championship like FEU inherited ours?   
   --> wow, karma nga.  Good deeds get rewarded.

- I wonder if the UAAP board will rule against AdMU when they know especially that DLSU will benefit. We have never (NEVER) been given a break by the UAAP when it comes to basketball... even against BAP and all logic. Hmm.

- Kawawa naman my blue friends, if this is true.  They have so few trophies. If they have to give one back, ilan na lang natitira?

- On a serious note, for a school that prides itself on always prioritizing academic excellence and integrity over everything (and always being very vocal so that everyone knows), this is going to be a painful blow, if it's true.

Ex-Ateneo cager’s records questioned

Ateneo de Manila may have used an ineligible player for three seasons, including its championship run last year — a brewing controversy that could lead to possible sanctions from the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP).

Lawyer Levito Baligod filed the complaint with the UAAP board on Tuesday, alleging that Jobe Nkemakolam was not qualified to enter college.

Baligod presented as proof a certification from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) dated September 3 stating that Nkemakolam “has not met the academic requirements to graduate from high school, hence, he is not qualified for admission to college.”

The certificate was signed by Lilian B. Enriquez, OIC, Director III.

Baligod said he discovered the information by accident while following a background check on Nkemakolam. The lawyer said he’s representing Dr. Mylene Santos whose daughter is pregnant by Nkemakolam.

Nkemakolam, who turns 25 on November 11, attended high school at Reedley International School before joining Ateneo in 2004.

“It’s now incumbent upon UAAP to verify or validate the basis of Ateneo in claiming that Jobe had graduated from Reedley, when in fact Reedley has no record,” Baligod said. “Reedley even disputes that Jobe graduated from their institution.”

“Siguro ’yun ang tingnan ng UAAP, bakit sinabi ng Ateneo na high school graduate si Jobe,” he added.

The complaint letter, a copy of which the Bulletin obtained, was forwarded to UAAP board president Anton Montinola of host school Far Eastern University. Montinola was not available for comment.

Reached for comment, Ricky Palou, Ateneo’s representative to the UAAP board, dismissed the complaint as an attempt to discredit Ateneo.

“As far as we know, as far as we are concerned, Jobe graduated from Reedley. They can even check with Reedley,” Palou said. “Obviously, some parties are out there trying to discredit us.”

Nkemakolam, a burly 6-foot-5 center, was in Ateneo’s frontline rotation in the UAAP last season, the year the Blue Eagles swept La Salle for their first championship under coach Norman Black.

Nkemakolam, who is reportedly completing a master’s degree at Ateneo, also played in 2004 and 2007.

A UAAP board member, who asked not to be named, said the complaint is worth looking into.

“If this is substantiated, if it’s beyond reasonable doubt, this is very serious,” said the UAAP official. “The board should take this issue up.”

The case is similar to what happened in 2005 when La Salle was found guilty of fielding Mark Benitez who was accused of falsifying his PEP test to enter college.

That led to La Salle’s suspension in 2006. The Archers were also asked to return their 2004 championship in favor of Far Eastern University.

Aside from the CHED certificate, Baligod also presented a certificate from Reedley issued to the Department of Education dated July 9, 2009 verifying that Nkemakolam attended Reedley for two years, Grade 10 (2002-03) and Grade 11 (2003-04).

There was no record that Nkemakolam attended Grade 12 which is equivalent to fourth year high school, according to Baligod.

So.  The Philippine politicians showed us how tasteless and classless they can be, turning President Cory's funeral into a campaign ground.  And now, Adidas follows their ill-advised example, and tries to claim / imply / steal ownership for the yellow-clad Ateneans and LaSallians during the August 9 UAAP Round 1 game.

The way they write it, they're obviously trying to imply that the Yellow was either Adidas' idea, or all LaSallians and Ateneans who went to the game came in yellow to support some ideal that Adidas took the initiative on and just happened to ask DLSU and AdMU to espouse.  It's so obvious that they're trying to imply it as strongly as they can, without outright and literally lying.  But the headline clearly calls out the lie that they are trying to subtly say.



The complete "news" article story is here: original Manila Bulletin article

Sorry to my green LaSalle jacket.  You're going into storage until my disgust over Adidas goes away.

Maybe I'm just emotional today.  But I'm honestly offended, as a LaSallite, as a Pinoy, and hell, even as a marketer this disgusts me. 

Last Sunday, La Salle crashed to Ateneo in a painful 81-65 loss, making history:
- first-ever 3-game losing streak for Coach Franz's Archers (even before Coach Franz, the only 3-game streak I knew of was a stupid Long-like UAAP board ruling that forfeited the first 3 games of the early 90s)
- this is a truly long losing streak to Ateneo Blue Eagles (6 games in 2 years, though my 2 decade tally is still well into the green)
- we are now, for the first time, in danger of dropping out of the Final Four.

Any of these may be normal to all the other schools (Yes, all, even to my blue-blooded friends of old), but WE ARE the LA SALLE GREEN ARCHERS, and, for decades, WE HAVE CHOSEN to WIN.

This year, I have realistic expectations of our young team.  Fight and fight hard, play with heart, use your head, and listen to Coach.  Never give up, and be true to your Green Archer name.  Gain the experience you need to get vengeance in 2010.  I knew it would be nothing short of a miracle to make it to the Finals this year, but at the end of 2009, I knew that our it was going to be our playing quality, not our final standing, that would be important.

From that, I have no need to belabor the many disappointments of yesterday.The biggest sadness for me is knowing that we are actually a championship-calibre team, albeit young.  The boys proved that on August 9, in our first round against the defending champions. But something got lost along the way.  And we need to find it again.

Boys, dig deep.  Time to find your heart and your courage again, and find it fast. 



Cojones.  Mojo.  Pride.  Passion.  Power.  Never-Say-Die.
Whatever it is.  I know you can find it.

While you search, win or lose, we will be behind you.  But don't forget that WE ARE LA SALLE, and we CHOOSE to WIN.  While you find your winning spirit once more, we KEEP THE FAITH.  Just don't keep us waiting for long ;-) .



Animo La Salle!  

---

Oh and by the way, on a lighter note, time for you to follow Maui's lead.  This kind of loss to the boys in blue deserves a hair-shave.   ;-)

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More photos to follow soonish. 

Vic and I were unable to shoot the DLSU-Adamson game because I am a bit sick.  BUT, Archerpride.com photographers Vince and Karen were there to catch the action!

To view Vince's photos, please click HERE.


Galing!


To view Karen's photos, please click HERE


ANIMO LA SALLE!

I still wish that Gokey had made it to the finals (even more than Adam, haha), but then again, it wouldn't have been as interesting if it had been Allen-Gokey! Here's my rundown of Wednesday night's finale performances:

Round 1: Favorite of the Year
Adam takes his usual technically-near-perfect performance to a new level of drama, with an encore performance of Mad World. Kris does a heart-wrenching performance of "Ain't No Sunshine" and progresses from his stripped down piano solo to a full string section.

Too much theater for Adam, lots of viewer-connection for Kris. And Kris steps up his technical singing skills as well. I think only Simon Cowell speaks the truth and Kris Allen takes the round!


Round 2: Simon Fuller's Choice
Adam sings a strangely unrecognizable song and I wonder if I'll fast forward through it. Every time he starts to hit a potentially-emotional note, he screams it out and makes me want to change the channel. I seriously wonder why Simon Fuller chose that song (I don't think it helped him at all), but of course the judges can do nothing but gush about it, huh. Hmmm.

Kris sings Mother, Mother, and breaks out the acoustic guitar. A very pleasant performance, with a semi-touching message, but not much of the wow-factor (especially compared to Adam, hmm). I hope his sincerity and his own personal touch will carry through the vote... though I agree with Randy and Simon that it was too "light" and "laid back" for the competition.

(Though.. I hope no one cares that it's not as "Big and Showy" as expected... At least he is truly consistent with what kind of artist he will be forever, hehe. I would BUY this song on his album. Seriously!!!)


Round 3: "No Boundaries".
Whoa, are those technical mistakes from Lambert??? Amg. I guess it's a good rendition and he is singing with a lot of emotion (which is a good change for him, I guess!), though I'm not sure if he is trying to project Angry or Inspiring. But anyway... I can't believe he hit Pitchy notes on the LAST song of the season! :( I wouldn't have wanted him to end this way. His reason-for-being for me was his pitch-perfect vocal control, which I think was unmatched all year.
> Side note, what a strange song. I also didn't feel as uplifted and inspired as the end songs usually affect me, so it was a very weird song for me.

Kris Allen struggles through the song.... which was too obviously written for someone with a wider vocal range than he has. I guess the pitchy parts of Adam were fine compared to Kris's serious struggles with his high notes. Glad that Randy and Kara give a bit of perspective there, but it was still a really rough ride, even for me.


So all in all...
I guess that last song seals TCO's (err, Adam's) victory (wow, did Kara want write it specifically for Adam, or what???) unless Kris swings the emotional vote. :( ... But I still think that my Best Moment of the entire 2009 is still Kris' "Falling Slowly" during Movie Week, and I will want to watch out for Kris's albums. I'll be one of those who want to grab it as soon as it comes out.

I still don't think I like who Adam is as an artist though I believe he deserves a win for the season on technical skill. His big problem is that this is a likability competition after all....


Season 8
I was listening to my old American Idol MP3s today. I think this is something that the judges should do more often, because I have no idea how they say it's the best season ever. Remember these NON-winners:
> Latoya London (All By Myself),
> Sayeesha Mercado (One Rock N Roll Too Many)
> Melinda Doolittle (Woman!)
> Bo Bice (gosh that acapella song... or I Don't Wanna Be)
> Lakisha Jones (You're Gonna Love Me)
> Anwar Robinson (that teacher who sang September... and A House is Not a Home)
> Blake Lewis (You Give Love a Bad Name!)
> Katherine McPhee (Somewhere over the Rainbow)
> Jason Castro (Hallelujah)
> even Sanjaya's spanish song was a very memorable performance

... much as I love Kris Allen and think Adam Lambert is a good performer... neither of them would have stood up to these guys. No way. Come to think of it, neither would have Alison or Gokey. Sigh.

I wonder if Idol is reaching the end of its life? Are there only really 80 talented (undiscovered) singers in the USA?? Can they really find enough talent to keep it going? I'll keep my fingers crossed, but I won't hold my breath.

In Shangri-La Rasa Ria Resort in Kota Kinabalu, a mere 2 hours from Manila, there is this gorgeous little restaurant called Coast.   We had the pleasure of meeting the Shangri-La Head Chef Glen R, and Coast Chef De Cuisine Andreas, and then seeing Chef Andreas in action in the Coast kitchen during our anniversary stay.  He surprised us with course after course of tasting-menu-size dishes.   Such an absolutely amazing experience.  

Here's our menu that night:

Start off with an amuse bouche of Porcini Mushroom icecream with a Parmesan Waffle.  And what WAS that little sauce on the plate?  I mopped it all up.



Then on to some Zucchini and Quail appetizer.  This was awesome.  Every bite was a nice new little adventure. :)



And now a Coast staple... the Crispy Crab Cake.  amg yummy.  But it becomes an awesome Coast exclusive with some unexpectedly cool Tomato Sorbet.  Suddenly you think you can eat the stuff alllllllll night. And then more the next morning.




Aaaaaaah. A Tomato Consomme with vegetables.  I could probably live off the smell alone.




Now the Catch of the Day.  Every night (I believe), Chef Andreas has a new "Catch of the Day" offering, so that the guests of Shangri-La can come back every single night and have something new on the menu to consider.  That night, it was Crispy Sea Bass with a siding of (surprise!) fresh fruits.  While you usually expect potatoes and peas and carrots, we had fresh fruits!  I don't usually order fish, but the combination of the sea bass and the fruits made this a really great dish!




Moving on to heavier things... Chicken that has been stuffed and marinated overnight.  Very tender and very juicy.  (Though at this point my mouth was screaming More Sea Bass!!! More!! More!!)




Ooooh the Beef Tenderloin with Ox Tail Medallions, on a bed of potatoes and carrots.  Amg, you have not lived until a world-class chef cooks you beef tenderloin and plops it down in front of you within 12 seconds of taking it off the grill.  Soooooooo good.  I would've eaten until my tummy exploded.




And finally.... a fruit salad and mini Creme Brulee.  You know how good it looked?  Vic and I gobbled them both up before we stopped to think that we needed to take a photo.  Hahaha




The wonderful chefs who made it possible... Chef Glen and Chef Andreas.




I'm hungry now. Sigh.

Maeirhofer leaves Archers, RP team
By Joey Villar Updated March 23, 2009 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Rico Maeirhofer, the lanky, high-leaping 6-6 La Salle forward, officially announced his decision to leave the Archers and steer clear of the national team to pursue a childhood dream of joining the pros.

“It is the most precious moment of my life the day I entered La Salle and the school taught me to be the best Christian I can be,” said Maeirhofer in an open letter.

“I’m proud and honored to be a La Salle Green Archer, it’s a dream come through and coach Franz (Pumaren) taught me the value of hard work and time management,” he added.

Maeirhofer said he decided to skip his fifth and final year of eligibility in Season 72 of the UAAP to pursue his dream of playing in the pros.

“I would like to send my apologies to the whole La Salle community, managers, coaches and supporters and thank them all for their understanding,” said Maeirhofer.

“I will always be here to support the team for I will remain a La Sallian and a Green Archer forever,” he added.

In his four seasons in the UAAP, Maeirhofer helped the Archers to two titles and the same number of runner-up finishes.

Right now, my brain is fighting sleep though my eyes are falling shut.

Right now, I am hating Ortigas and all its congestion and complicated traffic.  How can anyone survive 2 hours in the car.... half of the time you're not moving!?

Right now, I am missing my family who are half way around the world.  I miss laughing at stupid things and eating lots and lots of food with them.  I want to see my nephews and niece grow up and say silly things like "Tita Cyn, can I have a Chee... just one Chee" and "Zebra, I love you sooooooo much."

Right now, I want a hamburger and vanilla milkshake from the Shake Shack, New York.  Why in the world did I order a hotdog last time.  Why?  WHY!?

Right now, my back is threatening to be in lots of pain, held back tenuously by lots of pain-killing drugs. Hah!

Right now, a Dogbert (evil Dogbert) doll is looking over my shoulder, from the bookshelf, making snide comments at the utterly inane things I'm writing.  I love Dogbert. But he's scary to have as a doll sitting near your computer. amg.

Right now, I'm sitting in front of my pretty iMac.  I tried using an old MacBook for a bit, but the screen made me miss my iMac soooooo bad.

Right now, behind my Firefox, my World of Warcraft avatar is fishing in the underbellies of Dalaran.  If you understood that, then I hope you hear my smirk. >.<

Right now, I'm so tired and stressed with work that I can't see past the next two weeks.

Right now, I want to eat a Hostess Twinkie that Cris brought me from the US.  Unfortunately, I left them at my mom's house, 25 minutes away... :(

Right now... my brain is shutting down.  Good night!

I was having a perfect Christmas vacation until I heard about this.  This just makes me so angry.  Honestly, I've been harboring ill will towards our entire political system (i.e. corruption everywhere) for a long time.  But this one just brings a new level of disgrace to our poor country.

Usually when you say you wish someone would drop dead, it's just a figure of speech. But this time, i truly and vehemently wish that these heartless and cruel men would die, with a thousand stinging needs for every punch they threw to a defenseless person, a hundred fiery pokers burning their skin for every peso they had ever stolen from the Filipino people, a dozen breaks to their bones for every person they had ever extorted.

I know we should turn the other cheek and all that, but honestly, letting injustice go is NOT turning the other cheek... it's allowing evil to do more evil.  This evil has to stop.

If I could boycott Valley Golf Club, I would. 
If I could boycott DAR, I would. 
If I could reinstate death penalty for corruption and abuse of power, I would. 

I cannot do these, but I refuse to be powerless.  What I can do is ask that we all pass this story around so that other people know, and those who should feel the same outrage, do. 

Hopefully someone who has the power to do something will feel the outrage, and get justice done.

And maybe this could be a powerful message of stopping corruption and abuse of power in our much-abused Philippines.

-------


And nothing prevents the Department of Interior and Local Government from immediately beginning proceedings to place Mayor Pangandaman under preventive suspension. The abuse of power is self-evident. The victims and the witnesses all agree that the obscure, small-town mayor was motivated by an inflated sense of ego. “Hindi mo ba ako nakikilala? [Don’t you know me?],” he is reported to have kept saying, throughout the brutal attacks. Now we do.

Let's jump on the bandwagon and make a Christmas WishList, shall we?   The honest-to-goodness truth is that I don't really want anything I can buy.  What do I really wish for?

1.  I wish that someone would finally release a digitally-enhanced, cleaned-up, but "don't touch the original script or edit!" version of "Flight of Dragons".  I know the animation is majorly old school, but wow, I still love that movie.

2.  I wish for a hot 2009.  Hot sells more Tang.  More Tang means better business for Kraft.  Better business for Kraft means better ratings for me.  Better ratings for me means more money! :)

3.  I wish that there were some way to reverse the semi-paralyzing effects of a stroke, the pain of arthritis, the difficulties of slipped spine-discs, and buhol-buhol insides (as K calls it).

4.  I wish that it took less than 3 hours to get from Manila to San Francisco, or to New Jersey, or to New York, or to Toronto.

5.  I wish I could watch,and could have watched, my niece and nephews grow up sloooowly rather than in bursts from around the world.  I'd still skip the pooing and changing-of-diaper moments, but I wish I was there for it all.

6.  I wish that Filipino politicians actually gave back more than they took.  I wish that they'd put the Philippines first and everything else second.  Sometimes I wish that they'd all just drop dead together with anyone else who's guilty of any government corruption, but right now I just wish they'd get their conscience in gear and work 200% for the common Filipino.

7.  I wish we could clean up Pasig river and let it live as Jose Rizal saw it.

8.  I wish we could have four-day work weeks.

9.  I wish that all the ants in my house would pack up and GO.  Honestly!

10.  I wish I could afford to buy Vic a Porsche.  A new one.  With magically-enhanced safety features so that you'd be immune to the effects of other people's idiocy on the road, thus allowing you to go as fast the hell as you want.  Vroooooooooooooom vrooooooom.  If I bought it for him, you think he'd mind if I painted it pokemon yellow?

11.  I wish Globe would just give me a dang iPhone already.  Not that I need one.  But sometimes... you just HAVE to own something, you know? It's like having cake and eating it too.

12.  I wish I could make an above-average living doing casual photography.  Or playing WoW.  Haha.

13.  I wish I could host a family dinner for my family for Christmas.  Right now, the best it'll be is iChat and long IDD calls.

14.  I wish I was singing with my home church's choir --- the old choir that was together in 1987 and was still pretty much together in 2007 --- this year.

15.  I wish I would win the lotto.  I promise I'll give a lot back to those who need it!

16.  I wish someone would commission Vic to cover every F1 race from start to finish in one season. :)

17.  I wish at least 3 of my friends would get their wishes granted this year. ;-)

1.  I thoroughly enjoyed the four books of the Twilight series.  Even if they are absolutely a cross between Sweet Dreams and Interview the a Vampire, I truly enjoyed them.  I couldn't put them down, and love Bella Swan and Edward Cullen, and the relationship that they have.  Reading the book, you'd believe truly that people can fall in love at seventeen and know with absolute certainty what 'forever' means.

Oh, side note: It doesn't hurt that I loved the TV mini-series "Dracula" when I was a teen, and so I can completely relate to the seduction of being a vampire.  How much more now that we have 'vegetarians' to choose from?  I would *so* want to be a vampire who could go out in the sun.  There's no more trade-off. hmm

By the way, Team Cullen, all the way.  Down with Wolf boy!  (and the movie wolf boy is even worse! hah!)

2.  I absolutely detest Twilight, the movie.  The feminist in me cries out in absolute horror.  But I have to say it.   Don't let chicks direct semi-horror flicks.  Sure, ultimately Twilight is a love story.  But the sheer genius of the story is the fantasy/horror twist.  If you don't get that right, then the whole thing can turn out to be a cheap soft-porn flick.  Twilight the movie was... a cheap poorly made, shallow, "made for the sake of cashing in on a great new franchise" movie.

I did enjoy some of the scenes in the movie, and some of the one-liners (gave us a chance to use the kitchen!).   But by and large I was flinching with horror and at a few points I was honestly going to walk out.  (Note: I've only wanted to walk out of THREE movies in my entire life.  And yes, I did watch all three of the pre-quel Star Wars in the cinema.  And they weren't THIS bad.)   Anyway, what was up with
-  the artificiality (oh my god, someone SHOOT the make-up artist ... err.. person.  you can't call THAT an artist's work!) ... can't you even take the time to get the fake looking white powder all over their face and visible skin? Esme's forehead too big for you to paint all the way?  Or did Edward threaten to bite you if you put powder too low on his neck?
- the neveau-riche use of certain camera treatments (okay, using that sweeping 360-degree shot of a dramatic moment can work ONCE, maybe twice tops, in any movie.  Using it as many times as you do just makes it seem like "OhMyGOD I have a new toy, and like, I'm totally going to use it, like, totally all the time")
- ooh, how many times do we get the "slow mo with air blowing the hair" shot, too?
- the absolute amateur use of "cut to extreme closeup of eyes" ... Barf. 
- the "vampire on alert" pose in the baseball field? Was that gay or what!?  Wow. I was *really* scared that they were uber creatures were going to kill each other.  (ok, enough sarcasm for now).

Oh and by the way, apparently anyone who is cast in the Harry Potter movies goes to the school of "How to Look like you're really trying hard to Act".   Or maybe it was the bad direction.  Or maybe the make-up was just too distracting.  Perhaps the cheesy screenplay that was designed-for-those-who've-read-the-book and therefore don't need to understand anything... Ugh.  I have to stop. I could talk for two hours about what was wrong with a 1.5 hour movie.

3.  After all is said and done, I'm probably going to be lining up to watch New Moon when it comes out.  ... I just hope for the love of all that's holy that the Twilight producers get the same large BONK on the head that the Harry Potter dudes did... so they fix up their crap and give the fans a damn good flick next time!