A Sad Continuing Trend

I am having a great time in Vienna so far. But the enjoyment has been tempered with the sad news I got about the mudslides in Leyte, Philippines. In my previous travels, there had been sort of coincidences: Beijing (Beslan massacre) and Tokyo (Pakistan quake) are two grim examples.

As Tears/Years Roll By

On this Victoria Park pavement I came walking
On a fine chilly December evening
I grabbed my phone for I have to call you
And ask how is everything going

The phone kept ringing, ringing and ringing
There has been no answer from you
In excitement my heart kept pounding
At the eighth ring, still no response from you

How can this be that you've ignored me
When just a week ago at Causeway Bay we laughed freely
Thinking that you have placed your trust in me
Your refusal to my e-mails calls and SMS has sent me into misery

Before I sing Cliff Richard's theme song
Allow me to think if I ever did something wrong
I’m so afraid to show my feelings
I have sailed a million ceilings

Remember the time when I wake you in the morning
Our movie trips to Cyberport, UA and JP Cinemas
Our church visits together I thought was the beginning
Now I realize I was just dreaming

I can only look at the photos of the happy past
When we're with friends and being together was a blast
I'd admit I fell in love with someone else
But later on I found this chance with you shall never pass

Being there for me during those trying times
You are really someone special
I spent time writing love letters for you at the Central Library
Only to find out nothing beats being vocal

I never wanted to let this thing happen
For I value you much as a friend
But the commitment was intense I prayed to God to let me be
Your steward here on Earth until my breathe's end

There were nights when we stayed late, and even once until the break of dawn
Those thoughts fill my mind for days on and on
Your time with me was very important present and past
For I do not know if the last time we're together would be our last

I love you, you don't need to ask me
You can see what I do and I've told you quite frankly
But you don't seem to feel the same way
That's why you let your phone ring all the way

Days have changed dramatically,
And as I age here in Hong Kong I feel even more isolated
Friends are everywhere but their suggestions are not answers to the questions
Nor their plans are not solutions to the problems

There were times I could not sleep at night
As you can see the evidence in my eyes
Looking at the photo album remembering the past
Realizing some things really doesn't last

I still remember our first date
On a downtown fastfood we thought it wasn't great
I loved to recall the late-night messages
When at 12 midnight or 1am, we were still both awake

Remember the time when I thought a lot of signs were pointing towards me and you
When I realize they are possibly out of coincidence and would be too good to be true
Now I crash back to reality needing to teach myself
That in life nothing should be

Do you recall that fateful evening
When I realized you caught me cheating
No amount of crying or explaining
Can help me win back the feeling

Maybe it's about time I remove our photos together
On that small yet elegant photo frame
And the images of us next to each other all these years
I have to quit playing this silly game

I thought you penned the song "Don't Speak"
For you know how I feel, when I am strong and when I am weak
Now I still do not know that as years este tears roll by
Why is there a word "good" in "goodbye"

Philippine Olympic Boxing Hero Needs Help

Do you remember Leopoldo Serrantes? If so, then good. He is the 1988 Seoul Olympic flyweight boxing bronze medallist who brought honor to the Philippines and ended the medal drought which struck the country for 24 years.

An enlisted man in the Army, he is now suffering of lung ailment and needs help. He needs a wheelchair and an oxygen tank, the Philippine Star reports. This should not be a big request from someone who used to fuel the resurgence in Philippine boxing in the Olympics. Let's remember he was the one who started what Onyok Velasco ended. In 1988 Serrantes virtually won the bronze medal by beating his third opponent, someone from Morocco. He lost the semifinals game against a Bulgarian, thereby certifying the third place honors.

In 1992, the Philippines won another bronze medal courtesy of Roel Velasco, in Barcelona, Spain.

In 1996, Mansueto "Onyok" Velasco claimed the Philippines' second Olympic silver medal ever. The first one was won by Anthony Villanueva, in Tokyo Olympics in 1964, losing to a controversial fight against a Soviet Union fighter. That was the last medal won by the Philippines until Serrantes came into the ring.

So if the Filipino people had much love for Manny Pacquiao, let this love never fade whether he is a world champion or an aging, incapacitated boxer. Aside from Pacquiao, we have other heroes. They don't want to be in the spotlight. They only need to be taken cared for in times when their bodies don't cooperate much longer.

Do I hear anything from "Pacquiao Siamese twin" Lito Atienza, Chavit Singson or Miguel Arroyo who grabbed the limelight supposed to be Manny Pacquiao? Hopefully they will.

Congratulations: Southern Mindanao Prisaa Team

Davao Region has emerged as a powerhouse in collegiate sporting scene when it finished second overall among competing private colleges and universities in the Philippines.

Had it won its finals games in women's basketball and women's volleyball, Southern Mindanao would have been the champion. Anyhow, the achievement was tremendous and I congratulate the team for the job well done.

Region	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
Western Visayas	71	75	61	207
Southern Mindanao	61	52	50	163
Central Visayas	47	30	56	133
Calabarzon	33	40	30	103
Region 1 (Host)	26	29	20	75
NCR North	10	0	0	10
Region 5	7	22	7	36
NCR South	6	4	1	11
Region 3	3	7	27	37
Region 12	1	4	3	8

Source: Sunstar Davao

Another CNN typo

I visit more BBC pages and spend more time reading its news stories than CNN's. But again I found another glaring typo, this time just appearing in the homepage. Should I rename this blog as CNNwatch? CNN should look into the welfare of their editors who may be overworked and to sleepy to correct "terroism" into "terrorism".

Again I better watch my typos before I do pick on others. But I think my blog has less than ten views a day and I am not paid to proofread it. Do they say news should be accurate and factual? The news items at CNN may be factual (I am not anti-CNN) but these little misspellings bring down CNN's reputation.

Sad Ending

It is painful to see the photos of dead men, women and children lying on the ground after a gruesome stampede killed more than 80 people in Manila early Saturday. For some reason, people have risked lives to join a noontime gameshow I got fond of watching during my vacation in the Philippines last December.

I featured the joys of seeing the happy faces of hopeful contestants of Wowowee last December. Even if the host isn't my favorite, the happiness, if only material, he brings to contestants -- winners or losers -- is invaluable. For in a country where many citizens live in less than US$2 a day, getting a shot at winning big prizes by answering simple questions is a matter of hard work. Hard work in the sense that one has to overcome the rowdy crowds, discomforts at queues and occassionally the pushing and wrestling with fellow hopefulls before getting into the official list of participants. That's before they dig their brains or perform wild guesses to questions asked later.

So the road is indeed bumpy to attain those dreams. But Saturday's gory ending was too much to bear. With one irresponsible prank's message causing massive commotion, it sowed fear to everyone. Everyone should be afraid. After all, the crowd gathered in the venue ULTRA was hoping to earn something to assure something is on the table and prolong their existence, not take it away.

Relatives looking for their beloved can be seen sobbing while examining the dead. We thought that at the end of the show another lucky person will be added in the rags-to-riches hall of fame.

Many stampedes happened before: football games, bridges falling apart, etc. I guess this is a more sad experience. People did not try to come to Wowowee to enjoy the entertainment; they came to try to see if they can win some money or other giveaways. It's not just what they want. It is what they need -- to survive.

CNN.com Errors

I subscribe to BBCNews, Star Sports, ESPN and Star World because of my limited viewing time. Another reason is that these channels have quality content suitable to my requirements, both on cable and online.

BBC News remains a favorite channel (I love their pumping melody during news headlines) and bbcnews.com is an "unselfish" news source which provides links of the same headline to other news web sites without loading the annoying new window.

ESPN is definitely a favorite (I would have chosen only this one if the package did not bundle ESPN with Star Sports). The web site is just awesome, leading others into the next generation sports journalism.

And while I stick to these channels most of the time, I get a glimpse of other sites like Fox, CNN and NBC. CNN.com has been a good source as well, though I think the presentation is more Americanized than being international.

In terms of quality, CNN.com has dipped a bit lately. When was reading an article about ABC's Bob Woodruff injury, I found an error in the caption of the second photo. It says "ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff in a fire photo. The network reported he briefly opened his eyes Monday." The "fire" should be "file". It's good though that errors can easily be reported (you need three clicks though to reach the wrong spelling feedback page) and I did my fair share of keeping it accurate as possible.

Indeed it is easy to spot the mistake of others than to keep myself from having one.